Peony Prize
by Clockeater
Summary: When Ivan goes to see a collector with Alfred, the last thing he expects to find is a boy as the jewel in Arthur's collection. AU, human names used.
1. Chapter 1

It was very unanticipated.

Ivan had not expected to meet an old acquaintance on the train. He had certainly not intended to start gambling with him. But sometimes that is the way things work and a person never knows where one insignificant encounter may lead.

Ivan smiled a childish smile when he won another hand and Alfred was forced to admit defeat.

"You're much better now," he grudgingly admitted to the Russian while pulling out some food to munch on.

"Da…" Ivan said, eyeing the loud American's food with disgust.

"So," Alfred said through a mouthful of food. "What brings you to the city? This isn't even your own country. What are you doing so far away from Russia?"

Ivan sighed and explained. "I am a collector, da. I collect rare items and this city is the best in the world for seeking rare items."

"Oh! Artie is one of those too! He works in the city! You should meet up with him!" Ivan gave up trying to follow the young American's conversation and instead alternated between agreeing and nodding his head.

"-so you will? Oh good! I bet Artie will be pleased to meet you! He loves to meet fellow collectors!" Before he knew it, Ivan had agreed to meet Alfred's friend.

~oO|Oo~

Contrary to Alfred's statement on the train, Arthur did not seem pleased to meet a fellow collector. Instead he yelled at Alfred about the unwelcome presence in his shop and pulled Alfred aside to whisper about something.

Ivan ignored the two, instead preferring to look at the valuable objects cluttered in the British man's shop. Many dusty bookshelves, small and huge elaborate and simple statues, gorgeous furniture- Ivan thought he could see some animal figures too. He wondered if they were real, they looked like lions and cheetahs. There was even a beautiful huge chandelier hanging down from the ceiling in the middle of the shop. All in all, there was a lot more here than in his own shop back in Russia, however Ivan believed his shop was in a much better state.

"-what if he's here to steal 'that'?" Ivan heard Arthur hiss to Alfred and idly wondered what they were talking about now.

"Nahhh…It took me a while to convince him to come here." Alfred's voice was as clear as day.

"Still-what-" Arthur's voice was much harder to hear.

"All the other collectors- or 'competitors' as you call them- know. Does it really make a difference?"

"You-want-make jealous!" Arthur jabbed Alfred in the jacket.

Ivan coughed a little by accident and both blondes turned to look at him. Arthur gritted his teeth and pulled Alfred farther away.

Ivan continued exploring. He stopped when he thought he saw a bed located in an adjoining room. Despite his tall height, he had to crane to see what was back there. As far as he could tell there was a bed. Interest now increased, Ivan tried to make his way to the room. Instantly the British man stopped him.

"Ah, please forgive me, I've been so rude. Let me offer you some tea." The way the man looked at Ivan left him with no room for refusal.

There was a small coffee table towards the back of shop where Arthur served the other two fresh tea.

"My tea is the best around here, everybody else just serves plain rubbish," Arthur told Ivan proudly. Ivan nodded, wishing instead it was vodka that was being served.

"Come on, Artie! Can't we just show him? He's a collector too. I'm sure he'll see the true value!" Alfred whined.

Arthur mumbled something that sounded like, "That's just the bloody problem."

"You can't keep your treasure hidden forever! What's the point if you don't show your fellow collectors?"

Arthur blinked, processing what the American said before nodding. "Fine."

"Yeah! Just wait a second Ivan!" Alfred dashed off and was quickly obscured by the other objects in the shop. Ivan watched him with amusement and tried to force the tea down his throat. Arthur watched him drink with satisfaction then turned to watch Alfred return with worry evident in his eyes.

Ivan blinked in surprise as he saw the British man's prize. Whatever he had been expecting –something more along the lines of a rare statue- it had not been _this._

In Alfred's hand was a beautiful human being. Ivan wasn't sure if it was a girl or boy, but the slender figure and long hair and innocent eyes leaned more towards a girl. He had never seen another human like the girl before. She possessed bright golden eyes, flawless skin, rosy cheeks, a slim body and shiny long black skin. Ivan realized he was blushing a bit as Alfred led her over and he tried to hide his cheeks with his long scarf. Arthur watched his prize with pride.

"My uncle brought him back for me when he went on a trip to a place called China," Arthur explained. He held out his hand to his treasure.

Ivan nodded, barely paying attention. The girl-

Wait.

Arthur had said 'him.' That meant-

"Boy?" Ivan asked in confusion.

"Well, I'm not too sure how old he is since-"

Alfred's laughter cut through Arthur's explanation. "You thought he was a girl didn't you? Ha ha. Don't worry, I thought he was a girl too at first."

"B-but how can he not be a girl?"

"Come here, Yao," Alfred took the small boy's hand from Arthur's and led him over to the tall Russian. Getting close to the extremely tall man, the small boy shrank back, looking worriedly at Alfred. Alfred laughed and stroked the boy's raven black hair. "Don't worry Yao, if anything happens the hero is here to protect you."

Arthur snorted. "Who's the hero?"

Ivan felt a little saddened that he scared the small beauty and he held out one hand as if trying to coax a kitten or puppy to come to him. At Alfred's urgings, the boy surrendered himself into the Russian's arms. Ivan was surprised to find that even the boy smelt nice, he must have his own smell since it wasn't a smell that could have come from being in the store. It was a flowery smell, though Ivan couldn't identify it.

Alfred grabbed one of Ivan's hands and placed it on the Asian's chest. True enough, the being in his arms was definitely a boy, the lack of chest being much too evident. Yao squirmed a little and Ivan tried to calm him, "Shhh, I won't hurt you, da." How Ivan longed to run his fingers through the boy's hair, but he was content to just have him close for now.

Seeming to get tired, the boy started to slump against Ivan's legs. Without thinking, Ivan lifted the small boy onto his lap and put his arms around him. The clothing the boy wore was unfamiliar too, though it also added to the boy's feminine appearance. Beneath Ivan's fingers it felt like silk.

Alfred waved away Arthur's jealous glare. "Hmph. He doesn't usually act so friendly towards strangers. He usually hides or clings on to me."

Unbeknown to the three, Yao was as curious about the Russian as Ivan was about him. So far he had met people with only blonde hair. The Russian's silver blonde hair and abnormal height attracted him and the clothing that Ivan wore was different. Absentmindedly, he played with the end of Ivan's scarf, mainly ignoring the three's conversation.

Looking down, Ivan found the site too cute to resist. He couldn't help himself as he pulled the small body close and tightened his grip. "So cute, da~"

Surprised, Yao dropped the ends of Ivan's scarf. Arthur's hands twitched as if ready to separate Yao from Ivan.

"Aru?" For the first time, Ivan heard a sound from the boy's mouth. His mouth twitched at the cute sound.

"He talks?" Ivan inquired. Alfred supplied him with an answer, always ready to say something: "That's the only thing he says, and no one knows what it means."

"Huh?" Ivan blinked in surprise as he found Yao pinching his cheek. Yao giggled as he pinched harder and pulled. Ivan felt his cheeks redden and had to resist the urge to pinch Yao's cheeks.

"Okay, that's enough now. Come on Yao, let's get you ready for bed. I'll brush your hair for you if you want," Arthur held out his hand, which Yao quickly grabbed. Answered only with a few blinks and a tilted head from Yao, Arthur huffed, "I'll take that as a bloody yes then. The shop is closing now."

It was only as Ivan was leaving with Alfred and deciding to look back that he noticed a chain attached to the boy's ankle.

~oO|Oo~

Arthur narrowed his eyes. It wasn't surprising that Alfred had come back the next day to bug him and play with Yao, but he hadn't expected Ivan to come along with him. The two were using up so much of his precious tea.

However, Yao was delighted to have some people to play with. It was so boring just staying on his bed like Arthur wanted him to the whole day. With other people, he was allowed to move around. But he had ended up on Ivan's lap again (Ivan wore his scarf as usual so Yao was content to play with it) and Alfred was trying to teach him English. And failing miserably.

"Al-fred," the American carefully enunciated. All he got in return was a blink. Not deterred, Alfred jabbed a finger at himself and tried again. "Al-fred!"

Yao tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. Getting envious of Yao's attention to Alfred, Ivan grabbed Yao's chin and tilted it upwards forcing the Chinese boy to look at him. He smiled and pointed to himself. "Ivan."

Yao said nothing. Alfred laughed and patted Ivan on the back, laughing. "Guess he won't answer any of us."

"Yiwan?" a soft word made it past Yao's lips and everyone froze.

"Did he-?" Arthur tried to make sense. How dare someone else get his little treasure to speak!

Alfred's jaw was wide open in disbelief. Ivan, after getting over his surprise, hugged the boy to him. "Good job, da~"

"A-aru!"

"Now you get your reward!" Without hesitation, Ivan swooped down on Yao, planting his lips on Yao. One hand grabbed Yao's head and pulled it back, allowing him to slip his tongue into Yao's mouth.

"Hey!" Ivan whined childishly when he felt Yao pulled from his lap by Arthur. He was silenced by a stern look.

"Aru?" Yao asked Arthur. Arthur shot the two a glare before taking Yao to the adjoining room.

"Let's go Ivan," Alfred tugged Ivan's sleeve. "Before we get kicked out by Arthur. And what was that about?"

"Nothing, da …Does Yao ever get to leave the shop?"

Alfred thought for a bit before shaking his head. "I don't think I've ever seen Artie let him out," he replied cheerfully. "There's a new restaurant that I wanna show you! It sells this amazing food called hamburgers!"

~oO|Oo~

Arthur fought down the urge to throw something at the Russian. He was here again! He always showed up, monopolizing the attention of his treasure.

"Yao!" Ivan called the boy over. Yao walked over trying to see what Ivan was holding behind his back. "Be patient, da?" Ivan teased Yao. Yao pouted and tried to reach behind to grab whatever it was, his face turning a cute shade of red. While trying to reach, Yao stumbled on his chain and fell.

"Yao!" Arthur yelled, but Ivan caught Yao before the petite beauty could be injured.

Ivan righted the small Chinese who looked a little shaken. He put the present into Yao's hand.

"…Aru? Yiwan?" Yao looked at the present with wide eyes. It was a small panda toy.

Ivan chuckled. "It's for you, Yao. Now…where's my reward, da?"

Arthur pulled Yao behind his back as Ivan leaned forwards. "Get out, you wanker!"

"But-" Ivan pouted, but left when the British man got scary.

~oO|Oo~

Despite being forbidden from entering the shop, Ivan spied on the place. And didn't like what he saw.

Another collector had come to see Yao, though it was only grudgingly that Arthur showed him. Yao hid behind Arthur's back, refusing to see the Frenchman. Ivan could see Arthur's smug grin and burned with jealousy. Why couldn't he be the one Yao was clinging to?

Arthur left Yao to go to the back of the store and Ivan used it as a chance to sneak in. He couldn't leave Yao alone with some stranger.

The Frenchman beckoned Yao over. Yao went albeit hesitantly.

"Bonjour, mon cher. Don't be afraid…" The man ran his hands through Yao's hair and let them travel down his body. Yao flinched and tried to move away, but the man wouldn't let him. Ivan would have gone and attacked the man that second had not Arthur returned and kicked the man away.

"Francis! You bloody frog! What did I tell you?" Arthur yelled, furious.

Francis only shrugged his shoulders, holding up his hands as if in show of peace. "But it is my duty to spread l'amour around, n'est c'est pas?"

"Get out!" Arthur turned in Ivan's direction. "And you too, Ivan! If neither of you have any actual business, get out!"

At the sound of Ivan's name, Yao perked up. "Yiwan!" he called, running out from behind Arthur to where Ivan was. Ivan couldn't help the smug grin that spread across his face as he picked Yao up.

Arthur grumbled but allowed both men to stay when a customer walked in demanding his attention.

"Won't you hug moi aussi?" Francis pouted, holding out his arms. Still holding Yao in his arms, Ivan kicked the Frenchman away.

"Yao."

"Yiwan, aru?" Yao cocked his head to the side adorably and Ivan had to fight the urge to press a kiss to him.

"Yao likes his 'Yiwan,' da?"

Yao blinked and nodded. Ivan's smirk grew wider as Francis grumbled.

"Ivan likes his Yao too."

Eventually Ivan and Francis were thrown out as Arthur took Yao away. Ivan watched with calculating eyes. That chain around Yao's foot- how he longed to break it. Longed to have Yao in his arms away from all the others.

~oO|Oo~

_YaoYaoYaoYaoYao_

That was the only thing that seemed to be on Ivan's mind anymore. He needed Yao to belong to him and only him.

Alfred's voice only broke through to him when he made mention on Yao's name.

"What?" Ivan interrupted. Alfred frowned. They were at the restaurant Alfred had found, eating burgers and talking. Alfred had the feeling that Ivan wasn't listening to him and this just proved it.

"I said I finally asked Arthur out and he agreed. We're going to go see that magic performance, Arthur's obsessed with magic."

"No, no. What were you saying about Yao?"

Alfred sighed, of course that was all Ivan cared about. "All I said was that he would probably get really lonely all by himself. Arthur keeps him on such a tight leash, but Arthur usually stays in that shop with him."

Ivan nodded. He had noticed that the British man always stayed with Yao.

But that night- that night he wouldn't be around…

~oO|Oo~

Ivan waited until he was sure that Alfred and Arthur weren't going to return to the shop before breaking in. He went to go break open the door, only to find, to his surprise, that it was already open.

Making his way quickly to the room he had spotted on his first visit, he was overcome with a purple haze as he saw who else was in the room.

Francis.

He had Yao pinned against the bed and seemed to be murmuring words to Yao while Yao squirmed desperately underneath him.

Before he knew it, Ivan had pulled Francis away, throwing him into an antique dresser. It turned out to be quite fragile because as soon as Francis landed on it, it broke.

"What?" Francis gasped, attempting to sit up. "…Ivan?"

"Da?"

"Do you even know what you're doing? Non! Let me have the boy!" Francis begged, his eyes darting back to Yao on the bed.

Annoyed by the Frenchman, Ivan quickly knocked him out with the water pipe. "Never touch my Yao," Ivan smiled coldly, strange sounds of _kolkolkol_ being emitted from him. Ivan turned to Yao, pulling him into his arms, checking to make sure Francis had not hurt him in any way.

"Yiwan, aru!"

"Shhh!" Ivan smiled his childish smile at Yao and looked at the chain attached to his foot. He raised his water pipe and brought it down on the chain. To both their surprise, the chain broke easily.

"Aru?" Yao held up his foot as if disbelieving that he was no longer chained.

"Yao, please come with me, da? You don't need to stay with Arthur. You can come outside with me."

Yao tilted his head at 'outside.'

"Outside it can be scary," Ivan admitted, "but I'll protect you, da. There are many wonderful things outside too, like a field of sunflowers! Please come with me, Yao…"

Yao bit his lip, then nodded.

Ivan smiled widely and scooped Yao up, throwing him over his shoulder. Yao gasped, thrown off by Ivan's sudden movements. Ivan smiled, humming to himself as he left the shop with his water pipe and Yao. With Yao in his arms, he felt so elated, pleased at finally getting what he wanted.

They travelled quickly, the farther away from the shop the better. Ivan slowed when they got to the waterfront, slightly worried that Yao was so quiet. Pulling Yao from his shoulder, he found that Yao was staring wide-eyed at everything. At the first chance, Yao ran to the sea wall, staring at the water. Turning around Yao looked at the city's bright lights framing the night sky.

"Pretty, aru. Yao very happy!"

"You- you-"

Yao turned and laughed at Ivan's stuttering. He ran over to Ivan and pulled down on his scarf. When Ivan's face was at a reachable height, Yao planted a soft kiss on his cheek. Directly after, Yao's face turned red and he hid his face in Ivan's scarf.

Ivan chuckled, his cheeks a bit red, and tugged Yao away from his scarf. Finding Yao's blushing cheeks too cute to resist, Ivan kissed them. Yao turned redder and tried to push away. However, Ivan caught both of Yao's hands and pulled him closer. With one hand he pulled Yao's head back, slipping his tongue inside Yao's mouth. Yao hesitated, then kissed back. He moved so that his arms were around Ivan's neck, pulling him closer. Ivan moved down to kissing Yao's neck. He enjoyed the feeling of Yao shivering when he licked his collar. Slowly, Ivan lowered both of them on to the soft grass.

Barely aware of what was going on, Yao furiously kissed Ivan, caught up in the moment, his hands tangled in his hair while Ivan worked on getting Yao's clothing off. Ivan paused to admire the smooth skin that was glowing in the moonlight when he slipped Yao's shirt down, exposing his shoulder. Ivan bit down eagerly, eliciting a sharp gasp from Yao. Ivan quickly tore off the rest of the Oriental's clothing, stopping to admire the Asian's blush and the soft body beneath him. Yao squirmed, trying to get away. Ivan caught his hands and held them above his head as he continued kissing and licking making his way from Yao's neck to his stomach.

"Yiwan!" Yao gasped when Ivan's tongue swirled around his pink nipple.

Ivan smiled to himself. This was a fantasy coming true. How he's wanted all this time just to have Yao to himself, just to hear Yao call his name, his name only.

Yao's mind was in a frenzy. The touches, the kisses, they made his skin burn as if on fire and he wanted more. He tugged the scarf off Ivan, exposing Ivan's pale neck. Ivan's coat and shirt are off next and Yao ran his hands lovingly over Ivan's chest. He planted soft kisses along the neck, then leans back as Ivan moves his head lower. He moaned softly as Ivan parted his legs, hands stroking his inner thighs.

Ivan paused; savoring the beautiful sound escaping from Yao and was glad that no one else is around to hear Yao, to hear him calling his name. The sounds that belonged to Ivan alone.

Ivan stroked Yao's length, gently squeezing, pleased at how hard it is and noticed how hard he himself was. Yao moaned louder and Ivan couldn't deny himself any longer. He pulled off his pants with Yao's help. Yao's eyes widened at the size and his mouth opened slightly.

"Shhh…" Ivan tried to reassure the small boy. He gently massaged Yao's entrance until Yao looked up and gave him a small nod. Ivan hooked the slender legs over his shoulders and tried to enter slowly and gently. Excitement and pleasure overtook him and his thrusts were harder than he meant. Yao screamed in his ear and a second later the scream turns to moans and pleads. Ivan panted heavily, gladly trapped in this form of heaven.

Yao couldn't contain himself and he came, with Ivan following after him. Ivan pulled out and lay on top of Yao, listening to the racing heartbeat. Yao smiled and slowly runs his nimble hands through Ivan's hair- the hair that had initially attracted him.

In the distance a bell chimed, signaling midnight. Yao sat up, groaning as the pain hit him.

"Yao, what's wrong?" Worried violet eyes searched golden ones.

"Aru…need to get back. Yiwan, before Master come home," Yao held on to Ivan's arm tightly, not wanting to let go.

"No!" Ivan sat up suddenly, scaring Yao, and pulling him tightly into his arms. "No, Yao. I meant it when I said come away with me!" He felt unrestrained anger and jealousy at hearing Yao call Arthur 'Master.' "Don't go back! Da…I'll keep you safe forever!" Now that he had Yao, he couldn't bear it at all if someone else were to lay hands on his Yao.

"But…aru." Ivan silenced Yao's protests with a finger.

"Let's leave now, da? I can't give you to that bastard." Ivan pulled Yao off the ground and searched for their clothes. Ivan's were fine, but he couldn't quite say the same for Yao's. Sheepishly, he drew his button up shirt around Yao, his trench coat being too long for the small body. The shirt was more like a short dress on the Chinese, though it pleased Ivan to see Yao wearing something of his. After seeing Yao take a pained step, he simply scooped the beauty into his arms.

"A-aru?"

"It's faster this way," Ivan smiled and kissed Yao above his eye.

Yao snuggled into the warmth and safety of Ivan's arms as Ivan took them towards the edge of the city.

~oO|Oo~

Arthur threw a vase to the ground. "Where the bloody hell is he?" he roared. His huge eyebrows looked scarier than usual.

"Calm down," Alfred tried. "Look." He pointed to a confused Francis lounging on the ground amid the destruction of Arthur's rare oriental dresser. Arthur felt a brief flicker of irritation at the loss of such a rare collectable, but it was worthless compared to what he had to lose.

Crouching down to Francis' level, Alfred gripped the Frenchman's collar tightly and gave him a good slap. Francis groaned.

"Mon Dieu…"

"Where's Yao, bloody frog?" Arthur demanded, looming ominously over the two in the background.

"Yao…?"

"Yes! Where is he?"

Francis only groaned again. "That Ivan…he hits hard…"

Alfred and Arthur locked eyes. "That wanker…he won't be able to stay in the city. He'll try to escape. Go to the outskirts of the city," Arthur commanded Alfred.

"But Arthur…is it really that important to get Yao back?" Alfred straightened up.

"Aren't you a bloody hero?" Arthur demanded harshly. He continued in a softer tone when he saw Alfred literally flinch. "I need Yao…please, we need to get him back. He won't be safe with that Russian anyways… I need you to."

Alfred grinned at Arthur, blushing a bit. "Don't worry Artie! We'll definitely get Yao back! I'll stop the evil Russian!"

Alfred ran straight out to go confront Ivan and Arthur would have followed him had not Francis grabbed his coat.

"What?" Arthur snapped, pulling his coat out of Francis' hands.

"…I know what you're keeping, mon cher," Francis tried to smile. "Do you think that you can hold on to something like that forever?"

Alarmed, Arthur kicked Francis out of his way and bolted to the door.

"Bloody hell!" Arthur grumbled as he called his carriage to take him.

~oO|Oo~

"Look Yao!" Ivan jostled the sleepy boy in his arms. "We're almost out of the city. We'll be free once we get out."

"Aru, really Yiwan?" Yao looked so hopeful and happy Ivan couldn't help giggling.

"Once we get out, I'll take you to see sunflowers, da."

"Sun-flowers?" Yao tried the word. "I never see before. Pretty?"

"Very pretty, da. We'll see a big field of flowers!" Ivan paused before adding: "Yao smells like flowers."

"Peony, aru."

"Ivan!" Something hard hit Ivan's back causing him to stumble. Yao yelped as he fell out of Ivan's arms on to the ground. Ivan quickly got up and shielded Yao, turning to see who had called out to him.

Alfred.

"What?" Ivan hissed.

"Who, aru?" Yao tugged on Ivan, trying to see who it was.

"Haha…this is weird isn't it, Braginski?" Alfred laughed. "What do you think you are doing with Yao?"

"Leaving," Ivan started walking backwards, still shielding Yao from Alfred.

"Look man, you can't. Yao isn't yours."

"Yao is not an object. Yao belongs with me now. And he wants to come with me, right Yao?"

"Yes, aru!"

"So he can talk," Alfred pouted. "Well, sorry dude, I can't let you take him. That's stealing and the hero can't let you do that!"

Ivan turned, scooping up Yao and ran. There was an empty carriage at the end of the road waiting to escort travelers. He pushed Yao inside, turning to the driver.

"Take him to an inn in the next village." He threw some coins to the driver and turned back to Yao.

"No, aru! Yiwan!"

"Yao, don't worry. I'll come get you and take you to see the sunflowers, da? So don't cry."

Yao nodded and placed a kiss on top of Ivan's head. "S-see you, aru. Yiwan."

"Yao…I love you!" Ivan said, impulsively.

Yao smiled. "I know, aru. I love Yiwan too."

Ivan shut the carriage door and told the driver to go.

Alfred watched Ivan with shadowed eyes. "Ivan…I'm sorry."

~oO|Oo~

Yao leaned back from the carriage window, letting his sore body relax. Shutting his eyes, he tried to imagine what sunflowers would look like.

The carriage had barely travelled a distance from Ivan when Yao heard-

_***Bang**__*_

"Aru? Stop!" he yelled to the carriage driver, but was ignored. Cursing under his breath, Yao tried to open the carriage door.

"Ah, ah. Let's not do that."

Familiar arms encircled Yao and pulled him away from the door.

"Aru?" Yao, stunned, did nothing as Arthur held him in his arms.

"Did you really think I would let you get away?" Arthur chuckled, relief clear in his eyes. "You know how much I need you, my treasure. You, who many have fought over for thousands of years. I finally get my hands on an Immortal, and you think I'm going to let one go? Especially when all the legends that have stated being in a possession of an Immortal gives you what you desire which have turned out to be right! … Stop it, you git!" Yao tried to get away by wiggling out of Arthur's arms.

"Yiwan!" Yao yelled.

"Shut up! I need you! I can't go back to being some bloody non-important collector! And I can't let Alfred go! Without you, Alfred will go back to being with that bloody Canadian cousin of his! Stop struggling! I need you to keep him by my side!"

"No, aru! Yiwan! Yiwan!"

"Bloody bastard!" Arthur yelled as Yao managed to elbow him in the nose. Annoyance getting the better of him, Arthur slapped Yao, throwing him into the side of the carriage. Yao struggled to stay awake, to fight, but everything went black.

~oO|Oo~

Yao stared murderously from his spot on the bed in Arthur's house. Arthur, not wanting to take any more risks, had tied him up so that he couldn't move at all.

"Now, now. There won't be any more running away on adventures, will there?" Arthur smiled above Yao. Yao glared back, Ivan would come and save him and then the British man wouldn't be the one laughing.

"Arthur?" Alfred walked through the doorway looking a little dazed. "Here."

Arthur smiled at the object he was handed before throwing it down in front of Yao. The object landed right in front of him, giving Yao a generous view.

Yao felt himself go cold as he looked at the blood soaked scarf. The scarf that he had always adored- how could such a thing destroy his world so thoroughly? Hope dropped and he felt himself give way. Wanting to be strong, but failing, tears dripped down the Asian's face. He felt as if everything was breaking inside.

Arthur grinned. "Come on, Alfred." He reached out a hand to guide Alfred, but Alfred flinched away.

"N-no…I have to go home right now!" Alfred stumbled away, tripping over his feet.

"Alfred! Get your bloody ass back here!" Arthur roared desperately after him. He glared at Yao. "What's going on? With you he's supposed to stay by my side forever!" When Yao didn't answer, he kicked him, but even then, the Asian made no noise. Arthur let out a loud strangled noise and stormed from the room.

The small Chinese could only stare uncomprehendingly at the strange and confusing world. It was so loud.

* * *

Disclaimer: Hetalia doesn't belong to me

Reviews would be very much appreciated :D


	2. Chapter 2

I decided to continue this since some people were asking (or demanding...) and i guess it was kinda cruel to just leave the ending like that... so it looks like there will be a couple more chapters before it actually ends

* * *

A small giggle escaped Yao's mouth as he ran down the hallways. His feet were light, ghosting against the floor almost making no noise. Slowing down, he ran into a room and hid behind a large oriental vase. Stuffing his fist in his mouth to make no noise, he waited. And waited. When it was apparent that no one was coming, Yao cautiously got up fro his hiding spot and walked, tentatively, towards the door, peeking out. He could see no one and Yao suffered an acute feeling of loneliness.

Deciding to go find other people, Yao shuffled his feet down the hall, deliberately making noise. He turned his head from side to side, looking for other people, but found no one. Loneliness was expanding and stretching, wrapping itself tightly around Yao's heart. Though he wasn't running around anymore, his breaths were much sharper now and all Yao could hear was a buzzing sound in his ears.

Suddenly small arms clad in red silk wrapped around Yao. Loneliness evaporated and relief surrounded Yao as he turned to look at his younger brother who was staring up at Yao with expressionless eyes. Yao let out a relieved laugh.

Yao opened his mouth to scold his little brother.

~oO|Oo~

A door slammed shut, jerking Yao out of his dream of the long ago past. Gone was the peaceful past where he had barely known despair and now he was thrown back into the suffocating present. Yao was barely aware of the tears that were collected at the corners of his eyes, but Arthur noticed them.

There was a loud ringing silence after Arthur slapped Yao's face. Arthur glared at him. "Don't you bloody dare cry." Especially when all he wanted to do was break down and cry.

Yao squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself not to cry and to ignore the stinging pain of the slap. Slightly shaking in fear, he told himself to think of something else. Anything else that would distract him from Arthur.

His breath hitched in his throat as he was dragged across the bed by his long hair to Arthur. He was held down while Arthur tore away the gag from his mouth.

"What's wrong with you?" Arthur demanded, his harsh voice barely concealing the desperation underneath. "Why- why isn't Alfred staying with me? With an Immortal by my side I'm supposed to get whatever I want!" He shook Yao, but Yao's eyes were glazed over, seeing past Arthur. "Fuck you!" Arthur slapped Yao hard again, getting Yao to finally look properly at him. "That's better."

A second later, Arthur was reeling in shock as he realized that Yao had spat in his eye. Anger clouded Arthur and overthrew his judgment as he reached to the bedside table. Yao froze as he recognized the object in Arthur's hand. He quickly shook his head, eyes trying to show the apology he couldn't say. Arthur ignored him and wrapped the scarf around Yao's throat, pulling hard and cutting off Yao's air supply.

"Arthur!" Alfred's appalled voice took a long time to reach Yao and he was dimly aware that there was no longer anything choking him. He happily sunk into the darkness. Anything to escape reality.

~oO|Oo~

"Yao…Yao…" a teasing voice made it to Yao. Yao quickly spun around searching for the owner of the voice.

"Yi- Yiwan, aru?" Yao called out, struggling to find Ivan.

"Behind you Yao," again the teasing voice. Yao turned quickly and gasped as he saw Ivan standing behind him with a smile on his face, holding his arms out for a hug. Yao didn't stop as he ran to be enveloped in the large arms.

He had almost reached Ivan when he woke.

This time he didn't stop himself as tears flowed down.

Once the tears had lessened enough to let him see, he saw that outside the window that Arthur had left open to tease him it was dark, the only light coming from the full moon. Hope and determination blossomed in his chest as listened for Arthur and heard nothing.

It had taken him awhile but he was finally able to figure out how to free himself from the ropes Arthur used to restrain him. Breaking free, Yao collapsed against the bed, rubbing his chafed skin. Wasting not another minute, Yao scrambled out of bed awkwardly since he hadn't been able to properly move for a few weeks. The window was quite high up, but there was a cabinet near it. As swiftly as he could, Yao climbed up it and out the window. Dropping to the ground, Yao kissed the ground. Yes, freedom truly is sweet.

Now all he had to do was to see if Ivan was still alive. Until he was given solid proof that Ivan was dead, Yao would never give up.

Yao shakily stood up, only to be pushed back down to the ground.

"A-aru?" Yao panicked as he felt whoever was holding him down bring something out. He gasped as a needle was plunged into him and he went weak.

Arthur felt his irritation flare up as Yao was carried to him. Inwardly, he thanked God that he had been smart enough to hire men to keep watch for suspicious people or for Yao trying to escape.

Yao was completely out of it- his head lolling from side to side- as Arthur had him thrown back on to the bed and retied. This time the window was shut and barred. Arthur would take no chances this time. He would _not_ lose his precious treasure. He stared down at the pathetic sight of the Chinese boy. He really wasn't a harsh person, but desperation changes a person, bringing them to the edge of what they would and wouldn't do.

Arthur knelt down next to Yao, resting his head on the sedated boy's chest. "Please forgive me," he whispered.

And all the while, Yao pictured his younger brother and Ivan in his head.

~oO|Oo~

Arthur smiled helpfully at the rich lady as she deliberated whether to buy the large oil painting. He knew that for all her 'hmmms' and 'ummms' she would buy the painting in the end.

The bell jingled, alerting Arthur that another person had entered his door, though when he turned he saw no one. "What?"

The rich lady pursed her lips, annoyed that she was no longer being paid attention to and swiftly left. Arthur reached out to try to prevent her from leaving, but an annoyed whisper screamed at him to look.

Turning around, he was caught off guard as a man with glasses who somewhat resembled Arthur was standing behind him. His mind quickly made the connection and grasped that this was Mathew, Alfred's cousin.

"What do you want?" Arthur snapped, wishing that he could just not be a gentleman and force the Canadian to leave.

The Canadian (who looked equally annoyed, if not more) shouted something to Arthur, though he heard nothing.

"What?"

"I SAID leave Alfred alone!" the Canadian huffed, tired from the exertion of making himself loud enough to be heard. "Ever since he's met you and been with you, he's changed! What are you doing to him?"

Arthur flinched and muttered "nothing" as a reflex. Seeing the heartbroken look on Mathew's face was enough and the next second, he was vaguely aware that he was throwing Mathew out of his store.

As soon as Mathew was out, Arthur switched the open sign to closed and huddled against the door. His heart plunged. He couldn't lose Alfred. He needed Alfred.

He needed Yao.

The phone rang, making Arthur jump. He crawled on his knees to answer it.

"H-hello?"

"Master Arthur, there's a man by the name of Francis waiting for you at home," Arthur recognized his butler's voice. It took a moment before what the butler was saying to sink in.

"Don't let him touch or go anywhere! Keep him in one bloody spot!" Arthur commanded.

"Uhhh…forgive me, but…"

He ran quickly back to his home. Anger gripped him. Why were things spinning so far out of his control? If only things could go back to the way it was before that bloody Russian had shown up!

"You bloody frog!" Arthur panted, collapsing in the doorway of his parlor. Francis only gave him an amused look.

"Mais mon cher, you never told me that you still had the little boy," Francis tsked and shook his head, his blonde hair dancing around his head.

"That's none of your business, you wanker!" Arthur snapped. He got up off the ground, not wanting to remain such a pitiful sight.

"Cependant, I do remember telling you what happened to him when Ivan showed up, non?"

Arthur ground his teeth together, trying to fight the urge to throw something at the infuriating Frenchman.

"Ahhh Arthur…I still remember the days when you used to be nobody in this town…Non, that's not quite right. You were somebody; just everyone ignored you and wrote you off as your uncle's poor orphaned nephew. I remember meeting you… such a pitiful little skinny boy, non? You were such a failure as a collector in the beginning too," Francis reminisced, eyes gazing far away into the past.

"What's your bloody point?"

Francis leaned forwards with a smug grin on his face. "If you do not share petit Yao avec moi, I'll take him away and you will be reduced back to that."

Arthur fought the urge to laugh. Did the conniving Frenchman really think he would be able to do that? How laughable.

"Get out," Arthur deadpanned instead.

Francis sighed. "You really are quite unlovable. No wonder you need Yao to hold that American's attentions."

Francis found himself on the floor under the onslaught of Arthur's attacks.

"Artie! Arthur!" Alfred rushed in, dropping the bag of scones that he had brought for Arthur to go and pull the British man off Francis. He signaled the butler to take Francis away.

Blue eyes hurriedly roved over Arthur's face. "Artie, what's wrong? You- you seem so different lately."

Arthur bit his lips, unsure how to respond. Instead he grasped tightly on to the Alfred's jacket, burying his head into the crook of Alfred's shoulder. Alfred's glasses slipped down his nose, surprised by the sudden emotion from Arthur. He wrapped his arms around Arthur and held him tight.

"Ah! I know what will cheer you up!" Alfred yelled, pleased that he would be able to bring Arthur out of his misery. Arthur only lifted his head up, a confused look written across his face. "I was coming here to tell you that Heracles wants you to host a show for all your collections! Isn't this awesome!"

A pleased smile snaked its way across Arthur's face and his heart began to calm. It was all working out, everything was going the way it should. Arthur had come back and now fortune was shining his way. Arthur nodded his head and held Alfred tighter. The warmth of the American (though he would never admit it out loud)- Arthur could never give it up.

~oO|Oo~

Alfred held Yao's hand as they stared down from the upper balcony overlooking the ballroom where Arthur's collection was being showcased. Arthur was basking in the attention and praises. Alfred sighed, bored. He turned to look at Yao who was simply staring forwards, emotionless. Alfred sighed again.

Yao yelped as Alfred pinched his cheek and pulled. "Yaooo why won't you play with me anymore? Don't tell me you're afraid of the hero."

Yao struggled to push Alfred away. He fell to the ground when Alfred let him go, the bells around his ankles jingling. Alfred pursed his lips. Yao was no fun. Slinging the little Chinese over his shoulder, Alfred deposited him in an unused room, locking the door behind him. Yao huddled into a ball in the corner of the room. Choking back his sobs, he tried not to picture Ivan.

Yao didn't know how long he had been in the corner for- time didn't hold much meaning for him these days- when the door opened. Light swarmed into the room making Yao squint to see who it was in the doorway.

Francis looked behind him before closing the door and making his way to Yao. He paused when he was close enough to see Yao properly. The little boy looked so fragile and broken- huddled in a corner, arms wrapped tightly around his body- despite wearing expensive silk with precious jewelry adorning him.

"Won't you come with me, mon cher?" Francis held out his hand. Yao stared at the hand. How similar the words, the gestures were. But this time he wasn't reaching out with hope, this time he was recoiling away as if the hand had a disease.

Francis sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "I would have thought you wanted to know about Ivan." At the mention of Ivan, Yao perked up, instantly alert.

"Yiwan, aru?"

"Non, non. I was wrong," Francis said, shrugging and standing up.

In anguish, with the risk of letting Francis walk away with new if Ivan, Yao threw himself at Francis' feet.

"Oh, you do want to come with me, non?"

Yao said nothing as he nodded, refusing to look up. Francis tilted Yao's chin upwards with his hand. "You do want to come with me?"

Yao nodded yes desperately. He couldn't let this chance escape.

"Well, why didn't you say so? Allons-y!" Francis easily picked Yao up into his arms. Yao shut his eyes, blocking out the distressing feeling that he would regret this decision, and allowed Francis to bring him back to Francis' home.

Yao only got one good look at the home before he was brought inside. It was nowhere nears as grand as Arthur's- some parts of it looked as if it were falling apart or on the verge of it.

Yao started to panic when Francis dropped him on the bed.

"A-aru?" Yao asked nervously.

Francis tilted Yao's head back to place a kiss on Yao's neck. "Did you really think that I was going to give you news of Ivan for free?"

"N-no, aru!" Yao struggled to get away, but Francis pushed him down on the bed, pinning him down with his weight. Yao averted Francis' eyes as he stared down hungrily at Yao's body.

"But Yao, don't you want to know about Ivan. I'm not going to tell you for free. I'll even let you go after."

Hesitantly Yao nodded and reached upwards to plant a kiss on Francis, ignoring the disgusted feeling. Francis greedily bore down on him.

Yao shut his eyes, retreating deep inside himself. His mind was empty as his body involuntarily responded. It was only this way he could calm himself, the only way he could actually go through with this.

After all, it wasn't like it was the first time that he had been forced.

And throughout the whole ordeal, Yao wished it were Ivan- the only one who had ever actually been sincere.

~oO|Oo~

The next morning Yao woke to find Francis already up waiting with a tray of food for him. Sitting up, Yao discovered that his body was sore and tired.

"Wha-?"

Francis shoved food in Yao's mouth before Yao could finish asking about Ivan. He chewed quickly, eager to learn about Ivan. Again, as he opened his mouth, food was shoved in. This continued until all the food was eaten and Francis was satisfied. He drew the little Chinese into his arms and calmly groped the small body. Yao twisted, uncomfortable, and inquired about Ivan.

"Yiwan, aru?"

Francis paused, looking down in displeasure. "Am I not good enough, mon cher? Didn't you enjoy my beautiful body? C'est fantastique, non?"

Yao waited patiently for an answer.

"Well…I would not know."

Yao grabbed tightly on to Francis, hard enough to make the Frenchman squeak.

"What- what do you mean, aru?" he gasped.

Francis smiled apologetically. "Je suis désolé. I don't know anything about Ivan." He tried to ruffle Yao's hair, but Yao pushed away, huddling by the headboard.

"No, no, no, no, aru…" Yao moaned to himself, blocking out the rest of the world.

And again he was plunged deep down into desolation.

* * *

Please Review


	3. Chapter 3

Here's the third chapter enjoy!

Disclaimer: Hetalia does not belong to me

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For the rest of the day Francis hovered between the kitchen and his bedroom. After he had told Yao that he didn't know where Ivan was, Yao had gone into a state of shock, only staring at the window, unmoving. It was unnerving that the boy hadn't moved at all since the morning.

Francis paused by his bedroom debating whether or not to check up on Yao. Instead he heard a soft knock at his door. Opening it, he found Mathew waiting outside, a distraught expression on his face.

"Bonjour Mathew!" Francis cried, ushering the Canadian in. "What's wrong."

"A-Alfred," the Canadian managed to choke out. He stumbled to Francis, grabbing on to the Frenchman's shirt, begging for comfort.

Yao blinked, trying to resurface from the depths of his mind, when he heard the two men in the living room. Without thinking, acting only on his desperation, he jolted towards the window, pushing it open and jumped out of it. Luckily, there was only one floor so he landed safely on a small shrub. Without a backwards glance, he was running into the city.

The city was much different than how Yao had seen it the last time- quiet, not many people moving about. However now there were people everywhere, all fighting with one another to get to their desired places. Though glad that he had somehow managed to escape from both Arthur and Francis, it was terrifying alone by himself. His breath caught in his throat. How would he ever be able to look for Ivan in such a large city?

A few carriages rumbled near him and he jumped back in fright. Being caught under the large wheels did not look pleasant. As he backed away from the street, he walked into a fruit stand. Yao yelped as the fruit tumbled down, scattering across the cobbled ground. The stall owner looked up, his face already scowling with deep irritation only changed into an expression of rage when he saw what had happened. He started bellowing out in a loud tone while Yao cowered and hastily bent down, trying to pick up the fruit to appease the angered man. But the fruit seemed to have a different idea as they dropped or rolled out from Yao's fingertips.

The man, red faced and still sprouting loud angry words, grabbed Yao's slim arm, his hand easily encompassing Yao's arm. Yao's face was frozen in terror and the man taking advantage, started to drag Yao back towards his stall, easily overcoming resistance. Snapping out of it, Yao swiveled his head around, pleading for help. But no one looked in his direction, people intently focused on ignoring the scene before them.

"No, aru!" Yao yelped to the man, feeling his arm already beginning to bruise up.

The man turned to look down and opened his mouth to abuse the boy some more when he was suddenly sent tumbling down. He let go of Yao's arm as he met the ground, arms flailing about uselessly. Now people surrounding them weren't ignoring anything, most of them frozen in their spots, some of them with their mouths slightly agape.

At the end of the street, commotion was heard from constables heading Yao's way.

Yao was suddenly jerked away from the scene when he felt a small hand grab his and pull him away. Childish laughter floated towards him and Yao saw that a little boy was pulling him along.

They darted down into the alleyway, sharply turning around the corner and jumping over and dodging objects obstructing their way. Yao's mind began to spin. Around and around they went, the alleyways all connected to each other like a maze. Breathless laughter still continued to float back towards him.

"W- where, aru?" Yao tried to call to the boy in front of him. It was scary having to blindly trust another person.

After turning another corner into the dark and cool alleyway, they slowed to a stop and the boy flopped down on a pile of overturned crates, Yao taking a seat next to him.

He laughed, the sound clear and bright. "That was fun!" he winked to Yao. "I'm Peter! What's your name? I'm from Sealand by the way."

"Yao, aru." Curiosity aroused, he couldn't help but inquire, "Sealand?"

The little blonde boy scowled, his dirty face scrunching up. "No one ever recognizes Sealand as a country!" he complained. "One day, the whole world will admit that Sealand is the greatest nation of them all!" He accented his point with a fist pump.

Yao quickly nodded, not wanting to offend his savior. Peter grinned at Yao, pleased that he had found someone who wasn't arguing with him over the existence of Sealand as a nation. Peter loped over to Yao's side, moving his head close to Yao's.

"You're clothes are so pretty and fancy," Peter said with a touch of envy, somewhat sheepish about his own scruffy appearance and dirty face. He longed to reach out and touch the red clothes Yao was wearing to see if it really was as smooth and silky as it looked. "Is your arm okay? That man looked like he was holding on to you pretty tightly."

Before Yao could do anything, the young boy had already pulled up his long sleeve to reveal his arm, the smooth skin already starting to show the telltale signs of bruising. Peter tentatively poked the sensitive skin, but pulled away quickly when he heard Yao wince.

"Sorry!" he apologized, widening his eyes innocently at the older boy. Then, impulsively, he blurted out, "You're so pretty! Will you be my girlfriend?"

"… Aru?" Yao was struck dumb. "I…aru…I'm a boy."

For someone who had just asked someone out only to find that that person was the opposite gender of what they expected, Peter took the information very well. He shrugged nonchalantly before responding, "That's fine. Will you marry me when I'm older."

Yao shut his eyes, trying to decide how best to deal with this situation. "Aru…I too old for you. You're just child," he tried. "And…I already love someone, aru," Yao added in a softer tone, looking down.

"Oh," Peter said in a slightly disappointed tone. Then in a brighter tone laced with hope, he tried, "But I even saved you. Do I at least get a kiss?"

Yao blinked at Peter's request, his mouth opening to reject Peter's request. Then he closed it and leaned over to Peter, placing a soft kiss on the boy's forehead. The little boy closed his eyes and blushed. Yao smiled, the boy reminded him of his little brother. That thought sent a wave of melancholy through him as he thought about how long ago it had been since he had last seen his little brother.

Peter's stomach rumbled loudly. A sly expression on his face, he pulled out a large fruit- one of the fruits Yao had sent tumbling on to the street earlier. He greedily consumed the fruit, licking the juice off his fingertips once he was done.

"Let's go," Peter chirped, standing up and stretching. He grabbed Yao's hand and pulled him along.

"Where, aru?" Though Yao felt affection akin to brotherly love for the child, he didn't have the time to spend with Peter.

"Don't ask questions, just follow!" Peter pulled Yao through the dark alleyways, amazing Yao with his skill at navigating the maze-like alleyways.

The bright light was harsh, momentarily stunning Yao, as they broke free of the alleys and into a large marketplace. It must be near the ocean, he deduced, as he could hear the sounds of waves. Vendors were loud, yelling about their wares, and Yao shrank away, cautious of them. Peter grinned taking in the familiar sights and waving to a Swedish vendor who was selling fish with his Finnish partner. Yao, on the other hand, was getting becoming increasingly intimidated as he looked around him. It was even noisier- scarier- than the street with the fruit vendor. After having been isolated for so long, he couldn't help but still be overwhelmed by everything.

Peter, unaware of how stiff Yao had become, dragged him over to the Swedish and Finnish men. The Swedish man nodded calmly at the two while the Finnish man handed Peter and Yao some fish to eat.

As Yao lifted the fish to his mouth, his eyes caught a familiar sight. Moving quickly towards him were Arthur's henchmen.

Peter felt movement against him and saw Yao running through the market, pushing through people. To the other side of him, though he did not know it, Arthur's men had also broken into a run, shoving people aside. Peter yelled bye to the fish vendors and ran after Yao.

Yao ignored the sharp pains of elbows hitting him, of people pushing back at him, of hard objects bashing into him. All he cared about was escaping.

"Yao!" Yao heard Peter call him, his voice very close. His wrist was grabbed and he was pulled sharply to the left. Ducking stalls and fighting their way through the crowd, the two managed to break free of the market with Arthur's men closely behind them.

Yao felt some of his hair being yanked back and his heart stopped. After all this, would he only be taken back to Arthur?

There was a slight stinging pain as the hair strands being pulled broke free from his head and then he was free. Turning down the twisting alleys once again, they lost their pursuers.

This time Yao held no doubts as he raced after Peter.

Peter suddenly halted and Yao ran right past him, skidding into a wall.

"Look! Look!" The little boy peeled Yao away from the wall and led him down a narrow passage. To Yao's utter surprise, the passage led to a small plaza with a large fountain in the center. It was quiet with no other people around, only a few birds bathing in the large fountain.

"Pretty, aru," Yao sighed.

Peter ran to the edge of the fountain and peered down into the clear reflection. Yao joined his side, both mesmerized by the calming water. Peter, catching sight of his and Yao's reflections, pouted. The Chinese looked so clean while he was covered in dirt and grime.

Reaching into the water, Peter splashed his face and rubbed hard, determined to make his face clean. Yao couldn't help but smile at the little boy's endeavor. After relentlessly rubbing, Peter's face was shining red. He grinned up at Yao, proud of himself.

Yao bit his lip as he noticed something. With a shaky hand, he parted Peter's blonde bangs, revealing his forehead and eyebrows. Bushy eyebrows that was frighteningly familiar to Arthur's.

Yao quickly stepped back clutching his hand.

"What's wrong?" Peter asked, reaching out for Yao.

Yao couldn't help himself as he quickly backed away, resisting the urge to scream. Those horrible eyebrows… He felt sick.

"Yao?"

"No, aru!" Yao slapped Peter's concerned hands away and ran. It was irrational, a small part of him knew, but he just couldn't stop the fear from overtaking him as he ran and ran, not caring which way he was going.

Tears slipped down Yao's face. Where was Ivan?

~oO|Oo~

By night, Yao was seriously beginning to doubt whether running off into the city by himself was a good idea.

Cold and still wearing his fancy clothes, Yao was an easy prey- something a group of men had already picked up on. The leader sauntered over to Yao, placing his arm around Yao's shoulders. Startled, Yao took a step back into another man's chest. That man circled his arms around Yao's waist, easily lifting him up and away. Yao struggled, but though he had been aware that he certainly wasn't strong, it was only now that he acutely aware how weak he truly was.

Yao cried out, undeterred even when the men slapped him, one of them hard enough that his nails drew blood.

"Shut this bitch up," the leader commanded. Turning down an alleyway, they threw the boy to the ground. When Yao tried to get up, the men attacked, holding him down. It wasn't until the leader started to rip open Yao's clothes that they all paused as they realized that the figure under them wasn't female. Extremely annoyed and disappointed, the leader bit down hard on Yao. Yao tried to scream out, but a hand was placed over his mouth, cutting off his voice.

Apparently the other men didn't care that Yao wasn't female, deciding he was close enough, since they started to kiss and bite, running their hands down Yao's body, trying to draw a reaction from him. One of the men yanked Yao's head up, completely invading Yao's mouth. With his body being groped and pinched and grabbed, Yao's mind started to spin, threatening to sink him into down into the realm of unconsciousness where he would be completely powerless and vulnerable.

And then some of the weight on him disappeared. Yao's vision was blurry and he could barely make out another figure pulling the men off him. A second figure ran over to catch Yao before his head could hit the ground.

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Reviews would be very appreciated!

Also to Chanz, I was already considering those scenarios as alternate ideas for this story, but decided not to , but thanks anyways


	4. Chapter 4

Recently I discovered just how hard it is to use chopsticks with a sprained wrist...and then all my poor noodles fell to the floor TT-TT soo depressing...

Disclaimer: Hetalia doesn't belong to me

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"Vee~ Ludwig, she- he's unconscious!" Feliciano called in an urgent voice to the strong blonde man attacking the other men.

Ludwig glanced back, swore, and didn't hold back as he harmed the men. When he was finished with them, he walked over to Feliciano and examined the unconscious boy.

"Vee~ Ludwig, we have to take him back with us!" Feliciano pleaded.

"I know, I know. Stop hanging off of me!" Ludwig carefully picked up the delicate boy in his arms. He grimaced as he noticed the body seemed to be a little too light, the boy's arms easily flopping off his body as he was picked up.

It didn't take long for Ludwig and Feliciano to reach their homes. It wasn't in an area like Arthur's where all the mansions were grand and extravagant, nor was it even in an area like Francis' where the houses were just beginning to run down. Ludwig and Feliciano's house was located in a poor area where many of the people living there had come to the city hoping to find and lead a better life. The homes there were all run down, but everyone who lived in the area was trying to make the best of it and pretty flowers and colorful decorations had already been added.

Ludwig took Yao's limp body into a small house with the German and Italian flag hanging side-by-side outside. Ludwig started to lay Yao on the couch when Feliciano stopped him, shaking his head and directing Ludwig to his bed.

"I'll make some pasta for when he wakes!" Feliciano happily declared, running off to the kitchen. Ludwig sighed and proceeded to carry Yao upstairs. He gently lowered the body on to the bed, propping up Yao's head with a pillow and started to set about mending the injured body.

"Veee~ How is he?" Feliciano poked his head around the corner.

"He'll be fine. It's a good thing you heard him," Ludwig commented. Then he sighed. "I didn't think we would be doing this when we moved to this city. I don't want to make any more enemies but…"

"Ludwig, you're the best! Vee~" Feliciano hugged Ludwig from behind. Ludwig coughed, trying to hide a blush, and nodded.

~oO|Oo~

Arthur cursed everything in sight as he struggled to remain seated in the carriage instead of bursting out of it to run around to find Yao.

"Bloody bastard," he mumbled. He would, in fact, be running around searching for Yao right now if not for the fact that his uncle's lawyer had called him. He also had no idea where Alfred was at the moment, which made him rather nervous and worried, thus putting him into a terrible mood.

The office where the lawyer was located was old and had lots of ivy reaching up towards the sky with bricks falling off here and there. Arthur's carriage driver tried to convey to Arthur the slight suspicions he was having, but Arthur was much too preoccupied to listen.

The inside of the building was also decorated with cheap and tacky furniture, something Arthur would definitely have picked up on if his mind weren't so consumed by anxiety.

Upon meeting with the lawyer, both stiffly greeted each other and the lawyer bade Arthur to take a seat on a beat up couch, handing Arthur a cup of mediocre tea. Arthur did his best not to spit the offending tea right into the lawyer's face and tried to focus on what the bothersome man was saying.

"I'm sorry to inform you, but your uncle has recently passed away," the lawyer spoke, not looking particularly sorry at all.

Arthur's mouth opened and closed, his eyes bulging. "I- I…"

"He left you this sum of money and the mansion," the lawyer handed Arthur a paper declaring the amount (which wasn't much).

"On top of that he also left you a debt."

"D-debt?" Arthur grabbed the next paper out of the man's hand. His face went white as he saw the amount. "This- this can't be right!"

"No, Mr. Kirkland, I am confident that it's correct." Arthur thought he could see the lawyer trying to hide a smirk. "Well, that will be all."

Arthur felt desperation clawing its way back up him. He needed to find Yao quickly.

~oO|Oo~

Feliciano hummed a soft cheerful melody to himself as he climbed the stairs to his room, intending to briefly check on the boy. The sun was shining softly into the house and Feliciano had been pleased that the boy was looking much better when he had checked on him earlier.

"Ludwig!" he yelled.

"What is it?" Ludwig swiftly ran up the stairs, abandoning the clock he was making.

"Vee~ Look! He's awake!" Feliciano cooed, pointing out the obvious. Yao was propped up against some pillows, his long hair flowing freely down while Feliciano tried to convince him to have some pasta. Feliciano frowned. "You need to eat!" He pushed the pasta towards Yao who looked as if he was a small trapped animal surrounded by hungry beasts.

Yao shook his head, the last memory of someone else feeding him engraved too deeply in his head for him to be able to let someone else feed him. Ludwig knelt down next to Feliciano.

"You need to eat," he told Yao. Yao, trembling, refused to look either in the eyes.

"Ah! You must be scared of us! We didn't even tell you who we are. Vee~ I'm Feliciano and this is Ludwig. Ludwig saved you when those men attacked you. He also bandaged you! Vee~" Yao glanced at the mentioned bandages while Feliciano offered a bright, comforting smile. "What's your name?"

"…Yao, aru." Yao's eyes darted left and right searching for possible exits out of the room. His eyes rested on the door and the window- both of which he had a slim chance to get to.

"Vee~ Please eat, Yao."

Again Yao shook his head.

Now that Ludwig could see that Yao was well enough, he began to scold the poor boy. "What were you thinking walking alone at night? Especially in these parts! Do you have any idea how stupid that is? You're lucky we were close by!"

"Ludwig!" Feliciano protested, distressed for the small boy.

"I was looking, aru," Yao interrupted. The other two froze, surprised to get an actual response out of the Chinese boy.

"Looking?" Feliciano asked and attempted to get Yao to eat some pasta.

"For…man, aru."

"Who?"

"Yiwan, aru." Yao's face suddenly crumpled up as tears began to leak down his face. Feliciano started to panic, trying to get Yao to stop crying.

"Ludwig," Feliciano whined. "Why isn't the pasta working?"

Ludwig was too deep in thought, the name evoking a distant memory. "Do you mean…Ivan?" Ludwig frowned as he said the name.

"Aru?" Yao's head snapped up and his tears stopped midstream. Hope gleamed in his eyes, though he tried to quash it. "Yiwan?" He leaned over and grabbed Ludwig's collar, his strong grip surprising the German man.

"Y-yes."

"Vee~ You mean Natalia's older brother? He just came moved here recently, right? The one with the scarf? He's really tall! And has strange colored hair!"

"Yiwan!" Yao shrieked and tried to get out of the bed. Ludwig and Feliciano both had to combine efforts to restrain the excited boy.

"Wait Yao!" Ludwig ordered. "You need to rest first and we don't know where he lives." At Yao's glare he added, "Tomorrow we'll take you."

"Antonio will know! Vee~" Feliciano grunted as they both pushed Yao back into his bed.

"Tomorrow, aru?" Yao gazed up at Ludwig, his face betraying how badly he wanted to believe him yet was afraid to properly trust.

"Yes. I promise," Ludwig ruffled the Chinese's hair in a rare effort to comfort.

~oO|Oo~

Yao held tightly on to Feliciano's sleeve, biting his lip nervously while glancing at Feliciano and Ludwig, then at their surroundings. Kids played on the streets and they all gave Yao a curious glance. Yao shrank towards Feliciano, suspicious of all the looks. He gave the two a suspicious look. Were they going to betray him too?

As promised, they brought Yao to Antonio's house. As soon as Yao walked in, all he could see was tomatoes and bright colorful decorations- such a change from what Arthur and Francis' homes were like.

"Aru?"

"Tomato bastard!" they heard a shrill scream come from upstairs. "What did you do with my shirt!"

"I'm wearing it!" A Spanish man, who Feliciano pointed out as Antonio, proudly called back, stepping out from the kitchen revealing himself unknowingly to the three. "Lovino's so cute," he sighed. Then he took note of the trio. "Oh! Feliciano! Ludwig!" He greeted them cheerfully, then looked questioningly at Yao who had hidden behind the tall German. Ludwig sighed and pulled Yao out from behind him.

"This is Yao, veee~ He's looking for Ivan, Natalia's brother," Feliciano took it upon himself to explain.

"Really? That's good. I'm sure Natalia will be happy that her brother's getting some visitors. He's still injured, you know," Antonio chattered away completely oblivious to Yao's intense stares.

"Injured, aru?" Yao yelped, jumping towards the Spaniard. Feliciano and Antonio laughed as Ludwig caught Yao, stopping him from attacking Antonio.

"I'll get Lovino to take you." Antonio called to Lovino who stormed angrily downstairs, muttering darkly.

"What?" Lovino spat.

"Brother!" Feliciano ran to hug his brother, but Antonio beat him to it.

"I need you take these people to Natalia's house," Antonio told him.

"What? I'm not taking them to _her_. She's fucking crazy! She almost stabbed me one time!" Lovino protested.

"You probably deserved it," Ludwig muttered, still holding on to Yao.

"What's that potato bastard?"

"Please, veee~" Feliciano begged. "Yao needs to go see Ivan."

"Fine!" Lovino grumbled and stomped his way out. "Come on!"

"Do you promise to calm down?" Ludwig asked Yao. "I won't let you go if you won't remain calm. You'll only hurt yourself if you get too excited."

Yao nodded his head, impatient to follow Lovino. Ludwig sighed and let him go. Yao quickly caught up to the two Italian twins and Ludwig couldn't help but wonder just how important Ivan was to Yao.

After turning down a couple of street and hearing a lot of swearing from Lovino, they arrived at a house. Unlike the other homes, there was no effort to try to make it look friendly. Instead it emitted a creepy aura.

Lovino quickly muttered a goodbye and left while Feliciano shivered. Even Ludwig had to admit that the house was slightly daunting. However, Yao- either he was extremely brave or didn't notice or care about the aura at all- walked straight into the house without even bothering to knock.

"Yiwan?" Yao called out and was met with pointed end of a knife. "A-aru?"

"Who are you?" a young woman growled, her eyes trained on Yao.

Fear flickered across Yao's face, but he wasn't backing down when he was possibly so close to finding Ivan. "Where Yiwan?"

"Why are you all coming in here!" she shrieked as Feliciano and Ludwig came in.

"Natalia, we're here to see Ivan," Ludwig firmly stated.

"No!" Natalia protested. "No one can see big brother except for me!"

"No! See Yiwan now, aru!" Yao grabbed the knife and twisted it, determined not to be stopped at this point. Gasping in slight pain, Natalia let the knife go and Yao threw it against the wall. Seeing the intimidating face on Yao, she unwillingly nodded and let Yao pass to go see Ivan, gesturing to a room down the hall. Yao ran down the hall, slipping and sliding on the smooth floor.

"Yiwan!" Yao cried in relief as he found Ivan lying asleep on a bed. He dropped down on top of Ivan's chest. "So- sorry! Aru, sorry! My fault," he cried. He buried his head into Ivan's chest.

Yao lifted his head when he felt a large hand running through his hair. Ivan's tired and surprised eyes locked with Yao's.

"Beautiful," Ivan whispered.

"Yiwan!" Yao yelled through tears and threw his arms around Ivan's neck, hugging him close. Ivan slowly put his arms around Yao's small body.

Yao pulled away and Ivan held Yao's face in his hands, smoothing Yao's tears away with his thumbs.

"Who are you?" Ivan asked. Yao's breath caught in is throat, his mind freezing and heart dropping.

"Y-Yao, aru." Yao forced a pleasant smile on his face and drew back slightly.

"Pleased to meet you, da. I'm Ivan," Ivan introduced himself, trying not to betray how confused he was and how weird he found the situation to be.

Yao's eyes were like dull glass, his insides hollow. Why didn't Ivan remember him?

A cold hand grabbed Yao's collar and dragged him away from Ivan. Yao twisted back, trying to break free of the woman's unyielding grip, sending desperate glimpses towards Ivan.

"Natalia? What are you doing?" Ivan called after them, even more confused now.

Natalia ignored her brother, instead flinging Yao at Ludwig and Feliciano. Both jumped to catch the limp boy. In a voice laced with cold fury she told them to get out.

Ludwig and Feliciano glanced quickly at each other, conveying their worry while they led the boy out of the dilapidated house.

"Yao?" Feliciano called tentatively, but Yao didn't answer. The boy looked as if he had gone into a state of shock.

The way back home was spent in silence, Yao trapped inside his mind while Feliciano shot worried expressions towards Yao.

~oO|Oo~

"Vee~ Ludwig, I'm worried," Feliciano flapped his hands towards Ludwig. Though Ludwig said nothing, he was also worried. Ever since they had gotten back from seeing Ivan, Yao had not uttered a word, instead preferring to curl up into a ball on the couch, ignoring both Ludwig and Feliciano.

"Yao, have some pasta," Feliciano tried to comfort Yao. Yao smiled and gratefully accepted the pasta earning a relieved smile from Feliciano.

But it was a bitter smile, and Feliciano couldn't help but notice how Yao's eyes- once alive and animated at the thought of finding Ivan- were now bleak and lifeless.

* * *

Review? Yes, yes?


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter took a lot longer to write than expected haha... oh well. Happy Easter!

Disclaimer: as usual, Hetalia is not mine

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"Yao~ Smile! Veee~" Feliciano pulled the young boy along with him as Ludwig staggered behind them, loaded down with their wares. Both Feliciano and Ludwig had decided that it would be best to take Yao with them to the market instead of leaving him at home by himself. The boy looked so fragile, as if even a gust of wind could break him, yet he had a broken smile on his face that refused to disappear. It wasn't right; in fact it was somewhat creepy.

It was early in the afternoon when they arrived at the marketplace and the other vendors were just beginning to set up their stalls. Feliciano led Yao and Ludwig to an empty spot next to the boardwalk overlooking the ocean. Yao was left to sit on an empty bench while Ludwig set up their stall with Feliciano attempting to help. Attempting being the key word as even Yao was forced to look over in concern when Feliciano screamed loudly for help followed by Ludwig's gruff response and then a loud clatter.

"Vee~" Feliciano skipped over to Yao after being told by Ludwig to go do something else. He pulled Yao up and off the bench. "Come with me!"

Yao said nothing, not questioning the Italian when he was led to the main entrance of the market and still did not question anything when he was handed a large sign advertising the clocks Ludwig and Feliciano were selling. He only looked up at Feliciano, awaiting an answer.

"Stand here and hold the sign to attract customers, vee~" Feliciano instructed, showing Yao how high to hold the sign up. "Okay?" Yao nodded wordlessly in response. Feliciano pursed his lips at this, but said nothing, instead waving to Yao as he went to go join Ludwig at the stall.

Time passed by and yet it seemed all the same to Yao, as if time held no meaning. He stared listlessly into the crowd. At one point he caught himself looking intently at each passing person, trying to see if he could find Ivan. Yao shook his head, wishing he could just snap out of this. He was so pathetic.

~oO|Oo~

At the first opportunity to escape Natalia, Ivan had jumped at the promise of freedom even if it was only an hour. After all he hadn't come to the city all the way from Russia just to look for rare items to add to his collection- his main reason for coming had been defeated. He certainly hadn't counted on Natalia being able to locate him so quickly. She had even found a house for them to live in. Granted, Ivan couldn't really remember too much of the events that had happened in the time he had arrived in the city to waking up, injured, in Natalia's home, but he was pretty sure he had stayed in a hotel. Well, everything was rather hazy at the moment. But he stuck to his motto of not worrying too much about it. If there was a problem he would simply fix it with his water pipe.

…Although, the boy (though he certainly looked like a girl, Ivan somehow knew he was a boy) that had shown up yesterday had been surprising, if perhaps a bit worrying too. Ivan couldn't help himself as he smiled at the memory of waking up to the boy. It was different than waking up to seeing Natalia- it was much nicer and sweeter instead of the usual terrifying, heart attack-inducing experience. It was rather perplexing as to how the boy knew him and why he felt so happy when he thought of him. That was strange and very different. Usually he was a person who tended to stay aloof from other people, putting up walls to keep others away. Of course there were certain people who seemed to be completely immune to his wall, such as Natalia and Alfred. Or maybe they were just too dense- especially in the case of Alfred.

Ivan shook his head. Regardless, he could deal with his confusion another time. For now he should just concentrate on not getting lost at the marketplace and buy the food that Natalia wanted. She was rather scary when mad, after all.

Ivan froze as his eyes roved over the throng milling towards the marketplace and landed on Yao. He was tempted to walk over to talk to the Chinese boy. Instead he shook his head at his foolishness and continued into the market.

He had only stopped at one stall so far (he was trying to intimidate the stall owner into giving him a cheaper price, but the Polish man seemed completely insusceptible to the terrifying air surrounding the Russian) when he saw Yao running. Quickly abandoning his place at the stall, Ivan rushed after the boy. In the back of his mind he wondered why he was troubling himself after Yao before he pushed the thought away.

Getting closer to the boy, he could see that some suspicious looking people were following him. They looked strong and aggressive, but Yao was smaller and much more agile, allowing him to slip through the crowd easier. Yao ducked down a small corner and held himself flat against the wall, blending into the shadows. The men rushed past him, completely unaware of Yao.

Yao sighed in relief and pushed himself off the wall, intending to go find Ludwig and Feliciano when he found his exit blocked. He looked up, already cringing then-

"Yiwan, aru!" Ivan looked down in slight surprise as Yao wrapped his arms around his tall frame.

"How-" Ivan quickly stopped speaking and pushed Yao against the wall, hiding the smaller from sight with his body as the men from earlier turned down their alley. Ivan was quite sure that he must look rather dubious, but amazingly the men paid no attention to him. Ivan could feel Yao's small hands clutching his coat tighter. The petite body trembled in fear and Yao buried his head against Ivan.

Ivan patted the distressed boy on the head and quietly shushed him. He watched with half lidded eyes until the men were out of sight. He stepped back from Yao, trying to give him space, only to realize that Yao was still too afraid to let go of him.

Ivan chuckled as he pried Yao gently off of him. Yao blushed and stammered an apology as soon as he realized.

"I do not mind," Ivan told Yao, smiling happily. How strange- his heart seemed to be fluttering a weird way whenever he touched Yao, looked at Yao- even thinking about him. He was sure he had never felt this way before, yet there was something strangely familiar…

Impulsively, he reached down and kissed the top of Yao's head. The latter blushed and looked away and Ivan couldn't help but adore the cute reaction. Wanting more, he reached down to take Yao's lips, but was met with only air. Disgruntled, he found that Feliciano had pulled Yao away and was patting the smaller on the head. Feliciano waved his arms around and between the 'vees~' Ivan could just make out that Feliciano wanted to introduce Yao to some of his friends. Feliciano had begun to lead Yao with him when Yao reached out to grab Ivan and pull him along.

They met with a group of people at Ludwig's stall. Yao recognized Lovino and Antonio and Feliciano introduced the others: Gilbert, Roderich, and Elizabeta. Lovino spared a fleeting glance towards Ivan and Yao (shivering when his eyes met Ivan's) and went back to insulting Ludwig. Something about Ludwig being a 'fucking potato bastard'…

Antonio had a big smile for Yao and Ivan. "Here!" he handed Yao and Ivan a tomato each. "Fresh from my stall."

Elizabeta cooed over the cute 'girl' until the others informed her Yao was a boy.

"Here," she, too, handed something over to Yao. "Roderich and I run the carnival over by the pier. The others are also coming tomorrow night. Tomorrow the carnival is holding special events for the city's lantern festival. Wouldn't you like to come too?"

"Yes, aru!" Yao responded, his eyes shining at the chance to finally go see a carnival. He remembered Arthur and Alfred telling him stories of carnivals. "Yiwan come too?"

"'Yiwan?'" Elizabeta glanced up at the large intimidating man and quickly procured a ticket for Ivan.

"You come, aru?" Yao asked Ivan, tugging on his large sleeve.

"Da~" Ivan couldn't help the smile spreading across his face and he wondered at the elated feeling he got just by looking at Yao's smiling face.

"Oi! Little Yao! Come see my awesome stall! It's much more awesome than West's! Follow me, it's on the east side of the market." Gilbert grabbed hold of Yao's small wrist and quickly pulled him away from the others into the crowd.

"Bruder!" Ludwig called after them in a worried tone.

"Vee~ Where did Ivan go?"

~oO|Oo~

Most people in the crowd immediately parted as soon as they caught sight of the tall Russian carving a path through the throng. Those who weren't lucky enough to get out of the way in time had an unfortunate meeting with Ivan's water pipe.

Yao nodded as he tried to keep up with Gilbert's pace and his conversation. All he could really pick up on was that the word 'awesome' was being overused. All he could do was to run to keep up with the other's longer legs and nod his head in what he hoped would be taken as an acceptable response.

"-look awesome!" was something Yao could hear, though he wondered what would look awesome. Yao tried to turn his head to look for Ivan, but the albino man pulled harder on his wrist and Yao's irritation with the man grew.

"So what do you think of my fucking awesome plan?" Gilbert turned to look at Yao with hope in his eyes.

"What plan, aru?" Yao tilted his head to the side.

"Didn't I just tell you?" Gilbert cried in exasperation. "You and I will-"

Yao's fragile wrist was yanked out of Gilbert's hand as Ivan made his appearance. Ivan pulled Yao back towards him until he was up against Ivan's chest. The Prussian gave the Russian an annoyed and quizzical look, wondering what was going on.

"Don't you dare try to take Yao away," Ivan said with a creepy smile. He couldn't help the inexplicable anger that was coming over him at the thought of Yao being pulled away from him…and was that agony he was feeling too?

"Yiwan?" Yao let out a little squeak as he was hoisted on to Ivan's shoulder.

"Mine!" Ivan growled before disappearing into the crowd.

Gilbert was left scratching his head. "What? …I just wanted him to advertise for my awesome stall…"

~oO|Oo~

Ivan let out a soft laugh.

"Yiwan?"

"Why does this feel so familiar?" Ivan wondered. He laughed again. "Da, things feel so weird around you- everything feels so familiar with you."

"…Yiwan…" From Ivan's shoulder, Yao reached out to grab one of the ends of Ivan's long scarf fluttering in the breeze. How he had missed playing with it.

"-Oof!" Yao gasped as Ivan abruptly stopped. He let go of the scarf and twisted around to look at Ivan. "What wrong, aru?"

"…Nothing. It felt like someone was following us… No, I think it was just my imagination." Ivan shook his head and continued onwards.

"Big brother!" Ivan felt his stomach drop in dread at the sound of his name. That voice-

"Natalia?" Ivan slowly turned to face his scary younger sister, his grip on Yao's waist tightening. "Da?"

"You were supposed to buy groceries from the market! Instead- what is _that_ on your shoulder?" Ivan's younger sister screeched.

"Umm…a little kitty?" Ivan tried.

"Put that thing down, big brother, so I can get rid of it." To match her declaration, Natalia slowly pulled out a knife that had been hidden in her dress.

"Natalia, no," Ivan sternly told his younger sister. But Natalia had already zeroed in on her target.

In the end, Ivan resorted to running away with Yao clutching on to his shoulder and scarf.

"Big brother! Stop! You need to marry me!" Natalia bellowed after them, and not for the first time did Ivan find himself thanking God for his longer legs and superior stamina.

As soon as Ivan saw the community garden, he jumped through the bushes. Both males held their breaths as Natalia ran past them, completely unaware to where they had hidden. Ivan let out a sigh of relief as soon as he realized they were safe.

He laughed when he saw that Yao had latched on to him and was in a state of shock.

"Yao-Yao, let go now," he coaxed, pulling the boy off him and seating him on his lap.

"…Marry her, aru?" Yao's voice was so low that Ivan had to strain to catch what he was saying.

"Natalia?" Ivan choked out. His mind immediately the preposterous idea. "No, of course not!"

"But-" Ivan silenced Yao by pressing one finger to Yao's mouth.

"No. My sister is deluded." Ivan took a deep breath before adding, "She's one of the reasons I came to this city. She was fine when we were children. But now…" Ivan shook his head, his silver hair flopping over his eyes. "It was too scary to live with her in Russia without my older sister. Da, too scary." Ivan would have stopped explaining himself, but Yao's encouraging warm eyes prompted him to continue. "I already collected rare items, but now it gives me an excuse to travel around the world without going home too often." He sighed. "But she managed to trace me this time. I miss home and my older sister."

Ivan's eyes widened in surprise as warm arms embraced him. "Me too, aru."

"Where is Yao-Yao's home?" Ivan ruffled the Chinese's silky hair affectionately.

"China, aru. I lived with younger brother," Yao sighed. "It was very beautiful there, aru. Happy there. I miss him."

"What happened to him?"

Yao shrugged, looking away. "We were separated. Foreigners attacked and I couldn't protect him, aru. Then Japanese man took me away." A wistful look passed Yao's face.

"Japanese man?" Ivan questioned, the hand previously stroking the soft hair tensed.

Yao nodded, his face still pensive. "He was young, aru. Kind at first, but didn't talk much. He protected me too, aru. I miss him too." Yao sighed. "Then changed, aru. He cut my back…"

"What? Show me!" Ivan started to pull off Yao's shirt, but Yao resisted, shaking his head and pulling away.

"No, aru! Ugly," Yao cried, pushing Ivan's hands away, his face turning red.

Ivan growled and held Yao down on the grass, pulling the shirt off and flipping Yao over. Yao shivered as Ivan ran his hand down the scar.

"Don't look!" Yao gasped as he felt light kisses float up and down his scar. "Wh-what are you doing, aru?"

Ivan turned Yao over to look at his brightly flushed face. "I won't let anyone hurt you again," Ivan vowed. Had it been anyone else but Yao, he would never even imagined making such a promise, but with Yao it felt so natural and right.

Yao's face turned even redder and he tried to turn away from Ivan. Ivan grabbed Yao's face, twisting it back towards him. "Don't look away from me!" he commanded.

"Yi-" Yao was cut off as Ivan claimed his lips. Hesitantly, Yao parted his lips allowing Ivan to slip his tongue inside, both tongues dancing and playing, both fighting for dominance.

Eventually Ivan pulled away, both panting for air. He admired the view below him- Yao gasping for air with his ebony hair spread messily about his face. Placing one hand below Yao's head, Ivan pulled him upwards.

"Why does this feel so familiar?" he asked in exasperation and frustration. He softened as Yao reached out a hand to stroke his cheek.

"Wise Japanese once say, 'Even if mind forgets, body and heart remembers'," Yao whispered softly. His eyes were shut so he was unsure if Ivan even heard him. They fluttered open as Ivan's lips pressed to his again. Yao's hands pulled at Ivan's shirt and scarf, greedy for more, as Ivan moved down to suck on Yao's neck, marking Yao as his.

Yao froze and his eyes grew wide as his hands hit heavy bandages around Ivan's chest, the heaviest where Ivan's heart was.

"Yi-Yiwan?" Yao pulled his hands back in dread as his eyes flashed over the bandages.

"Ah, it's nothing," Ivan mumbled, covering up. "I'm not even sure how I was injured. Natalia found me, but she won't tell me." Ivan let out an awkward chuckle, trying to laugh it off. He frowned as Yao sat as stiff as stone, refusing to look away. "Don't worry about it, da?" Ivan drew Yao's hair back into a ponytail, planting comforting kisses on Yao's head.

"Ah, it's growing dark." Distracted as the two were, Ivan hadn't noticed the sky grow dark until it had turned a dark blue progressing towards black. "I need to get you home, da? Where do you live?"

"With Feliciano and Ludwig, aru," Yao mumbled as Ivan pulled him up.

"Let's go," Ivan cheerfully set off, entwining his hand with Yao's.

"I won't let anyone hurt you either, aru," Yao vowed to himself.

~oO|Oo~

Upon entering Ludwig and Feliciano's home they were greeted with an angry German and a worried Italian.

"Vee~ I was worried," Feliciano cried, pulling Yao into a hug. "What's on your neck?"

"Sorry, aru," Yao apologized, hugging Feliciano back and avoiding the question.

Ludwig turned from the two towards Ivan who was standing in the background, smiling down at Yao and Feliciano.

"I don't trust you," Ludwig told Ivan bluntly.

"You should stay away from Yao, vee~" Feliciano seconded.

"Felici-"

"He's dangerous Yao," Ludwig broke in. "Even his sister has said that he's killed people before. You need to stay away from him."

"What, are you his parents?" The aura around Ivan had turned threatening. His hand itched to take out his water pipe.

"No! I trust Yiwan," Yao pleaded, trying desperately to get Feliciano and Ludwig to understand. After a moment of silent communication, Ludwig sighed and gave in to Yao.

"Fine…Just be careful."

"Ludwig!" Feliciano protested. Ludwig shook his head and guided Feliciano a safe distance away from Ivan.

"I'll go now," Ivan said to Yao. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Yao nodded. "Goodnight, aru," he chirped. Ivan smiled and kissed the top of Yao's head before leaving.

~oO|Oo~

"Did you find him?" Arthur demanded as his men walked in.

"No… I'm sorry," one of them apologized. They all shivered as Arthur started walking towards them.

"But- but we found something- or someone else of interest!" another nervously yelled.

Arthur paused, intrigued by what the man had said. Was there really someone else who would be able to interest him as much as Yao?

"Bring him in," he commanded.

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Review please? I find them very encouraging ^^


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Hetalia is not mine

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Yao smiled as he felt the brush run through his hair. He didn't want to admit how comfortable it felt. Behind him, Elizabeta admired his silky strands. Since she had witnessed Yao and Ivan in the market, she had come over to help Yao prepare for the festival and Ivan, despite Feliciano's pleas for her to remember that Yao was a boy. After all, Feliciano still remembered all too well how Elizabeta had treated him when he was still a child.

Elizabeta hummed to herself as she worked the brush through Yao's hair one last time before placing a pink peony in his hair.

"Perfect," she pronounced. Lightly tapping Yao on the nose, she added, "Don't do anything to ruin all the work I've done so far, alright?" Stepping back to admire her work, she commented, "I'm sure Ivan will be very happy when he sees you." She giggled at the blush that covered Yao's face.

Worried knocks at the door alerted them to Feliciano's presence. "Vee~ Elizabeta, what did you do to Yao?"

Pulling the door open, Feliciano stumbled into the room followed by Ludwig. Feliciano's anxious look turned to one of surprise and delight as he took in Yao.

"You look so cute!" Feliciano declared and pulled Yao into a tight hug.

"Ah! Leave him be," Elizabeta instructed, tugging Feliciano away from the small Chinese. "I want him to look perfect for his date. It'll be so romantic," she sighed.

"D-date, aru?" Yao flushed. "I-it's not-"

"Of course it is!" Elizabeta eagerly interrupted. "After all, the festival is for lovers. I'll be with Roderich and Feliciano and Ludwig will go together." She ignored the disgruntled sound Ludwig made in protest.

"Festival…lovers, aru?" Yao tilted his head to the side, his hair falling across his face.

Elizabeta smiled widely, only too happy to share the story of her favorite festival with someone who hadn't heard it yet. She settled down on the chair, getting ready to recite it.

"_Once there were two lovers who were very happy and had found everything they ever needed in each other,"_ she recited, her eyes shut. "_For many days and nights, they were together and believed that they would stay this happy forever. However Lady Fate did not smile kindly upon them._

"_One day they were torn apart from each other. The man was sent into exile while the woman was married off to another man. The man was exiled into a small isle not too far from the city, just visible on the horizon. After the woman's wedding, she took a lantern, lighting it and sent it floating on the water towards the isle. With that lantern, she sent her wishes for a future where they could exist together to him._

"_When her husband found out what she had done, she was punished, but the man she loved came in time with her lantern to save her. As soon as he had found the lantern, he had known it was from her and fought even harder to get back. Together they escaped and were able to live happily together once again."_ Elizabeta sighed. "Isn't that romantic? And every year, the city holds the lantern festival in their honor and every couple sends their wishes with a lantern into the ocean."

"Vee~ We'll do that too, right Ludwig?" Feliciano latched on to Ludwig's arm, gazing up into Ludwig's face. Ludwig coughed, looking away as he nodded. "Yay!"

Elizabeta checked the time, gasping as she saw how late it had gotten. "Now make sure you stay perfect," Elizabeta said one last time before leaving.

~oO|Oo~

Ivan rocked back and forth on his heels as he knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. To his surprise, it was the Italian who answered the door. Feliciano stepped back, quaking in fear as he let Ivan inside. Ivan smiled pleasantly down at the Italian but was answered only with a yelp as Feliciano scurried off to the kitchen to hide.

He didn't wait long before Yao joined him downstairs. He stared at the Chinese, unable to believe how even more beautiful he had become- Yao looking like a living and breathing porcelain doll. How he longed to reach out and run his hands through Yao's glossy ebony hair, but Yao looked so delicate, so breakable.

Ludwig grasped Yao's arm, stopping him before he could go join Ivan.

"Aru?"

"Be careful," Ludwig warned, looking even more serious than usual. "I…I don't think he's the man you think he is. Even his sister has admitted that he's very dangerous."

Yao snorted. From what he knew so far of Natalia, it was much more likely that she had invented stories to keep other people away from her brother.

But Ludwig did look truly concerned, so Yao nodded and smiled in reassurance. Then he skipped to Ivan's side. Ivan gazed adoringly down at his Yao, sweeping Yao's hair out of his face before taking his hand. Entwining their fingers, Ivan led him out of the house.

It was a few minutes until they were out of the neighborhood. Yao gasped, astounded by how changed the city looked. In the dimming sunset, the lanterns- entwined with garlands of flowers were strung high above everyone from roof to roof- glowed different colors. Delicate looking decorations adorned lamp poles and many people were walking towards the carnival- the designated spot for the festival to take place.

With Yao's hand in Ivan's, it didn't take the pair long to reach the carnival. Yao stared, wide-eyed, at his surroundings. Little stalls were set up selling lanterns, flowers, little gifts and food while other stalls held games for couples to play.

Ivan pulled Yao towards a stall selling flowers. He handed the owner some change and selected a sunflower.

"For you." Ivan pushed the sunflower into Yao's surprised and open hands. The confused expression on Yao's face, which morphed into an expression of delight, was a sight that Ivan knew he would always treasure.

They walked through the crowd, stopping every now and then at a stall, hand in hand. The sunflower rested in Yao's other hand.

Ivan hummed to himself as he walked. With a jolting shock, he realized that Yao wasn't beside him. He pushed people out of the way, not caring what they thought, as he tried to locate Yao.

"Yao?" he called loudly, hoping that he would be heard above the loud chatter. "Yao…" he sighed in relief as he saw Yao standing still. He circled Yao's waist with one arm and pulled him close. "What are you looking at?"

Yao tilted his head back to look at Ivan before pointing to a stall giving away stuffed toys as prizes for winning a game. One of the toys was a panda… How odd. Ivan felt his mind go fuzzy as he looked at the panda.

Shaking his head, he asked, "You want the panda, da?" He smiled as Yao's head nodded up and down, rubbing against his chest.

Maintaining a tight grip on Yao this time, Ivan moved them to the stall and flagged down the Lithuanian to give him a turn. He was handed several darts to hit the balloons suspended on the opposing wall. Ivan flashed a confident grin at Yao before throwing. The balloon popped, making Yao jump. Smiling wider now, Ivan took aim again. This time, the balloon didn't pop. Ivan glanced quickly at the Lithuanian, noticing the man quickly hiding a smile.

"Yiwan?" Yao asked quietly. Ivan shushed him and threw. Again, the dart failed to pop the balloon. Ivan gritted his teeth; only two darts were left. Getting slightly frustrated at this point, Ivan threw the dart hard. Still, the balloon refused to pop.

"Let me try, aru," Yao suggested, taking the dart from Ivan. He frowned in disappointment as his try turned out to be in vain also. The Lithuanian man smiled smugly, turning away from them.

Yao's eyes traced over the panda lovingly in disappointment. That did it for Ivan.

After a moment's discussion between Ivan and the Lithuanian, the panda was quickly handed over to Yao. "Look the nice man decided to give us the panda!"

Yao gripped the panda tightly, lovingly, his face lighting up while Ivan led him away from the stalls.

"Now I get reward, da?" Ivan asked. He twitched as his mind felt fuzzy again. Somehow the words seemed a little familiar.

"Reward, aru?" Yao asked, warily.

"A kiss." Ivan bent his head down for Yao.

"Now?"

"Da. Right now."

"N-no, aru!" Ivan pushed out his lower lip, attempting to pout. A rather pathetic attempt, but Yao gave in anyways. Standing on his toes, he reached up to plant a chaste kiss on Ivan's cheek. He gasped as Ivan, not content with just the kiss, grabbed the nape of his neck, pulling him up for a real kiss. Ivan took advantage of Yao's gasp to slip his tongue inside Yao's warm mouth.

When Ivan pulled away, he cupped the sides of Yao's face, admiring the blush playing out across Yao's face. He touched his forehead to Yao's before stealing another kiss.

"So cute!" they heard someone squeal and Yao quickly pushed Ivan away. By the light of the lanterns, they could just see Elizabeta with Roderich standing awkwardly behind her. Yao's blush deepened and he tried to pull away, but Ivan kept a tight hold around him, not letting him go.

"I hate to break you two apart, but Yao you have to come with me!" Elizabeta grabbed hold of Yao's thin wrist and pulled him away. Ivan reluctantly released his hold on Yao. "I'll return Yao soon!" Elizabeta yelled over her shoulder. "Roderich, don't wander off!"

"Where are we going, aru?" Yao asked as he struggled to keep up with Elizabeta's quick pace.

"You'll see!" she turned back to wink. Together, they made their way through the crowd of lovers. Eventually they came to a small pavilion set up in front of a large rock wall. Many women were crowded around there, all trying to attach a piece of paper to the wall.

"What's this, aru?" Yao turned to Elizabeta, feeling extremely out of place.

"The wall was constructed for women to come and write down their wishes and to leave it there," Elizabeta explained. "I didn't want to come alone."

"I'm not a woman, aru," Yao reminded Elizabeta, pulling his wrist out of her hand.

"Well, I'm obviously not going to take Ivan with me," Elizabeta retorted. "If you don't want to write anything, just stay with me at least. But you _have_ to light a lantern later."

~oO|Oo~

It was awkward to stay with the Austrian, Ivan discovered. Roderich was a silent and stiff man- it was a good thing he had Elizabeta to balance out their personalities.

"Ah!" Ivan said, noticing an old acquaintance of his. "If Yao come back, tell him to wait for me here," he told Roderich. The Austrian nodded at him, pushing back his glasses.

Ivan strode through the crowd, calling out loudly. "Alfred!"

The American (who was buying food to share with the Canadian beside him) froze and dropped his change. The coins clattered loudly against the stone ground. Ivan bent to help pick up the coins.

"Matthew, leave now. I'll meet up with you,'" Ivan thought he heard Alfred urgently murmur to the other.

"B-but!"

"Go!" Ivan definitely heard Alfred hiss.

Straightening up, Ivan handed Alfred his change. Instead of the expected gratitude, Ivan was met with a completely puzzled expression.

"How- how-?" Alfred gasped as his eyes travelled up and down Ivan.

"What is it?" Ivan furrowed his eyebrows. "Is there something wrong?"

Alfred remained stock-still, gaping like he had seen a ghost. "I- I don't believe-"

"Alfred? Everything is alright, da?" Ivan asked moving closer to Alfred. For some reason he inexplicably felt intense rage towards his acquaintance and he had to restrain the urge to bash the American's head. Instead he managed to show only concern by reaching out a hand to Alfred.

Alfred suddenly snapped out of his trance, quickly snapping away Ivan's hand. "N-not possible," he breathed, his eyes wide with fear.

"Alfred?"

Alfred bolted, pushing away from Ivan and quickly disappearing into the crowd. Ivan was left feeling extremely confused.

"Yiwan, aru?" Ivan looked down, finding Yao pulling on his sleeve. "Something wrong?"

"Yao-Yao!" Ivan pulled Yao into a hug, quickly masking his confusion. "Everything's fine."

He led the Chinese by the hand away from the crowd until they were walking over a small bridge lit only by the waning moonlight and glow of the lanterns. Small dots of light splattered across the night sky- Yao could remember another night like this where everything was beautiful too. The aroma of beautiful flowers surrounded and danced about them. Ivan smiled down at Yao, the smells of the other flowers didn't reach him, only the smell of Yao appealed to him. He surprised Yao by grabbing a lock of his long hair and bringing it up to his nose. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the scent of peonies.

Ivan stopped, caught off guard. Since when did he know what peonies smelled like?

Yao caught Ivan's hand, and pulled him onto the wooden bridge. The moon was reflected perfectly on the surface of the water- not a ripple disturbing the perfect replica.

Around them were the sound of other lovers seeking peace in the night, but Yao and Ivan were deaf to them, both ensnared in their world that could only allow the two.

Ivan trailed his hand through the water, the moon's image fluctuating. He brought his wet hand to rest on Yao's neck, inciting a squeal from the smaller. Yao dropped the sunflower and bent to pick it up, but Ivan's hands beat him to it.

"What flower this, aru?" Yao asked as the sunflower was handed back to him.

"You don't know what it is?" Ivan gasped in mock condescension. He smiled as Yao shook his head. He placed a light kiss on Yao's head as he answered. "It's a sunflower. It's pretty, da?"

Yao's eyes widened as he remembered mentions of sunflowers from before. He quickly looked at the large yellow flower. So this was a sunflower…

"One day I'll take you to a sunflower field," Ivan whispered. "There's one not too far from where we live. Would you like to see it tomorrow?" Yao quickly nodded his yes as if he was running out of time to answer Ivan's proposal.

And then lips crashed together, the panda and sunflower falling out of Yao's hand, hands that were quickly preoccupied with grasping the Russian. Ivan's hand pulled Yao's neck closer, while his other pulled Yao up to him. Yao responded quickly, wrapping his legs around Ivan and letting him access his mouth. Ivan- taking delight in Yao's moan- moved to kiss and lick his neck. Yao's hands wrapped tighter in Ivan's hair.

A small movement caught Ivan's attention, and he paused. Yao- not yet noticing Ivan's distraction- moved to nuzzle his head into Ivan's shoulder.

Ivan kept his eyes on the dark figure as it moved to hide in a bush as if aware that Ivan was watching him. Unconsciously, he tightened his grip on Yao.

"Yiwan?" Yao asked in confusion. Ivan was acting so strange today and he didn't understand why.

"Stay here," Ivan murmured, setting Yao carefully down. "I'll be back soon."

He moved out of Yao's reach quickly to evade Yao's hands. If he didn't leave now, he wouldn't be able to find out who was watching them.

Yao watched with confused feelings as Ivan walked away. What was going on? He felt breathless with worry. He remembered what Elizabeta had said about the woman who had also been worried and confused. Thankful towards Elizabeta now, Yao pulled out the small paper lantern she had bought for him. He quickly folded it into the correct shape. Using the match that came with it, Yao lit the small lantern and briefly admired the swirling designs on it before setting it on the water and giving it a small nudge. It glided smoothly across the surface. Yao watched it go, wishing that with it, it would bring his hopes of a happy future to fruition just as a lantern had did for the woman.

Yao let out a small laugh. He really was quite superstitious sometimes, believing in a fantasy that probably never happened.

Yao glanced in the direction Ivan had left in. He was taking so long; Yao couldn't help but be impatient.

So he decided to go surprise Ivan by finding him.

~oO|Oo~

Ivan slammed the man into a large rock with his pipe. His eyes glistened as he watched the red blood trickle down the man's head. How beautiful- beauty in a much different way than the beauty he was used to seeing, but beautiful nonetheless.

The man twitched, crawling forwards, still trying to escape. How foolish, yet it surprised Ivan that the man was still able to move at all. Ivan grabbed his foot and pulled him back.

"You're not escaping," Ivan laughed. "Stay and play with me some more, da?"

There was a sickening crunch from the man's ankle and he let out a strangled wail.

"Oops," Ivan muttered before pulling the man up to eye level by the man's bloodstained shirt. "Now tell me: were you following Yao?" He shook the man violently when he refused to answer. "I know you were, so just admit it!"

The man let out an audible sob. "Yes! Yes, I'm sorry! Forgive me! I need the money, so I was only following orders! Please forgive me!"

"So you were trying to steal my Yao away from me?" Ivan's voice turned to a growl.

The man, going delirious in his pain, could only answer with, "Yes! Yes! Forgive me!"

"Then I must reward you, da?" Ivan's smile was dangerous. Letting his rage take over, he pushed the man against the rock again, this time holding him there as he brought down his water pipe repeatedly upon the man.

Beautiful crimson sprayed, painting the rocky canvas Ivan's favorite color. He continued to beat the poor man even after the cries had cut off, enjoying the sounds.

He stopped when he heard a gasp so soft he wasn't even sure if it was real.

Turning around, he was confronted with Yao's wide golden eyes. He dropped the man as if that would dispose of the evidence. But nothing could hide the red splayed across the rock and his own coat and the dead man on the ground.

"Yao…" Ivan reached out a hand towards the boy. But it had the same effect it might have on a startled deer. Yao turned, fleeing as fast as he could.

"Yao!" Ivan chased after him. He couldn't let Yao escape from him, he needed to explain- but how could he explain what Yao had just witnessed?

It didn't take him long before he caught Yao, pinning him down on his stomach to the ground. He felt a feeling he wasn't accustomed to- guilt- as he felt Yao's shoulders shake underneath him.

"Yao…" Ivan turned Yao over to face him, still keeping him underneath. Yao's hands covered his face, concealing them from each other.

Ivan tugged the hands away and brushed the hair out of Yao's beautiful face.

Tears dripped down the Chinese's face. What could Yao do but cry? How pathetic of him. How foolish of him. All this time he thought he had known every side to the Russian, that what the others warned him about were only rumors. How blind of him. How could he say he was in love with a person he only knew some sides to? How could Ivan do something so inhuman, so disgusting and disturbing?

Yao was scared that by seeing this, it made Ivan far worse than Arthur.

"Yao," Ivan spoke quietly, softly stroking Yao's face. "Let me explain, please. Let me explain about myself."

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Review please?


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for all the reviews so far!

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia

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Ivan looked down at the trapped boy underneath him. Even in fear Yao still looked beautiful and Ivan couldn't help the thought that Yao was his prize, his treasure…

"Yao, look at me," Ivan commanded, taking hold of Yao's chin. His heart felt weird as Yao looked up with unconcealed fear in his eyes- was it pain? Interesting, he hadn't felt like this in such a long time.

It was interesting how this boy could make him, Ivan, feel so many things- feelings that he thought he was incapable of feeling ever since…

Ivan shifted, the blood on his jacket gleaming as he moved, and his pipe fell out. It fell on to the grass barely an inch from Yao's head. The Chinese froze, eyes wide and staring at the pipe in fear. Ivan swore and pulled Yao into his arms. He needed to take Yao somewhere where he wouldn't be able to see the bloodstains. But where?

Ivan carried Yao into a dense part of the nearby forest. He briefly grinned, pleased that the darkness the trees cast hid his bloodstains. In his arms, Yao remained still.

"If I put you down, do you promise not to run?" Ivan asked Yao, half expecting him not to answer. Yao surprised him by nodding his assent. Ivan gently set Yao on the ground. It pained him as Yao moved away, going as far back as he was allowed. He stopped when his back hit a tree.

Yao was just like a kitten, Ivan mused. A small frightened kitten. How he wanted, needed, to make this kitten trust and come near him again. He hated how wrong this evening was turning out to be.

"Wh-what were you going to tell me, aru?" Yao asked, his strong and clear voice startling Ivan.

"Do you love me?" Ivan asked, abruptly.

"A-aru?"

"Do you love me?" Ivan repeated. He reached out and grabbed Yao's ankle, yanking the trembling Chinese towards him until he had Yao pinned underneath him. "I-I love you," Ivan admitted boldly.

"Da, I love you!" Ivan said with conviction. "I love you, so…there are things I want you to know about me." He hung his head, scared to look at Yao.

Yao's chest rose and fell as he regarded the Russian above him. For sure, Ivan scared him…but it did nothing to quell the feelings he held for the man. And it was because he loved him that Yao needed to know, needed to learn the truth about the violent and loving man above him. No matter how scared and terrified he was right now.

"What, aru?"

Ivan collapsed on top of the small man below him, burying his head into Yao's neck. He was hiding, he knew, but he didn't want to see how scared Yao was of him. He hated this- being terrifying to the one he loved.

Did this truly make him a monster? When the last person to look at him with innocent love could only look with fear now?

He already knew there were people in this world that viewed him as one…

"Yao-Yao…I'm not an innocent person…I've killed people before, many people," Ivan confessed into Yao's neck. He felt Yao shiver, though whether from his confession or from his cold breath, he wasn't sure. "I told you I lived with my two sisters before, da? Well we used to live with our parents too…before…"

Ivan's eyes were unfocused. He lapsed into his memories. Memories that he preferred not to remember if he didn't have to.

Yao turned his head to look at Ivan, wondering why he had gotten so quiet. He gasped as Ivan pulled him into a tight embrace.

"When I was a child I lived with my parents and my sisters: Natalia and…Katyusha. We lived in a small village in Russia. The other villagers were very superstitious- though, it seemed normal when I was a child- and they didn't trust my family. My parents had moved to the village when they were pregnant with Katyusha. Everybody else in the village had lived there for decades…maybe they had always been there…

"This village had a local deity- he was called General Winter- to whom everybody worshipped. Everything that happened to the village was said to be the will of the General Winter. I suppose we could say the deity brought good luck to the village usually. But one year- years after Natalia had been born- there was a failure with the crops. The village was far away from any other villages or towns, so the crop was the only thing we relied on to get us through the harsh snowy winters. As winter was approaching, the heads of the villages decided there needed to be sacrifices in order to appease General Winter.

"And so, my parents were chosen to be sacrificed.

"They were taken in the middle of the night when Natalia and I were asleep. However, Katyusha was awake- she, the only one understanding what it meant to be sacrificed. Natalia and I were still young- we were influenced by the villagers and celebrated with them over the sacrifices.

"Anyways, Katyusha followed the villagers who took our parents. Instead of taking them deep into the forest to be sacrificed, they were taken to one of the head villager's home. She watched as the villagers killed our parents and took out their organs. She overheard them talking and learned that our parents owed a massive debt to the village. They were supposed to pay it back within the last year, but they couldn't come up with the payment. And when the crops failed, they saw it as an opportunity to kill off our parents and- and to sell their organs to the black market!" Ivan spat out this last part, his eyes cold. His grip on Yao tightened, as if Yao was his last hold on keeping his sanity.

Ivan continued: "However, Katyusha was discovered. She managed to escape them and run back home. She explained to Natalia and I what happened and that we had to leave right now… But we were stupid children and didn't want to believe her. We didn't want to leave the only home we had. Katyusha tried to force us to leave…but she was always the weakest. She cried more than she yelled. And then the men came."

Yao whimpered as Ivan's hold on him was beginning to hurt, but Ivan took no notice.

"They took her away, and tried to take me and Natalia, too. They dragged Katyusha away quickly, but Natalia refused to let go of me when they tried to separate us. One of the village leaders decided we were no threat and we were left to live in the house alone and without our parents or Katyusha.

"It was very hard and scary after. We lived in fear of the villagers and they often bullied us. Every time we asked about Katyusha or our parents we were punished. And ever since the night they were taken away, Natalia wasn't the same anymore. I was the only one she had left and she became obsessed with me. My parents and older sister were taken away and my younger sister wasn't the girl she used to be. She believed we were safe only if we married- how she came to that conclusion, I don't know. But she wouldn't let me go.

"As we grew older, the animosity towards us grew, and we began to train ourselves. After all, if they killed our parents and took away Katyusha, nothing was really stopping them from doing the same to us.

"Then they did come for us one night. We were both teenagers at this time and we were determined not be captured and sold or killed. The only thing to do was to kill. They came with the intention of murder, so they were met with murder. It is fair, da? We heard them yell about us being the next sacrifices for General Winter, and then all I remember was the joy of striking down, of killing all those villagers who would have loved to kill me. All my hate for them went into taking their lives.

"I remember it was snowing that night- a gentle and peaceful snowfall. The snow was painted a beautiful crimson red…it was like I was a painter and the landscape my canvas. There was a strange joy in taking their lives…" Ivan looked down at Yao. He couldn't read the expression on his love's face. "I learned it was better to kill early than give the enemy a chance to kill you. I have a scar around my heart where someone attacked me. Luckily Natalia saved me before it became life threatening.

"After all that happened, we moved to a city far away from the village. It was hard to set up a new life, but easier than how our lives had been in that cursed village. In the city I became a collector and Natalia worked at place selling knives. We tried to look for any news of Katyusha…we eventually learned she had been sold as a prostitute and later killed.

"Natalia slowly became unbearable to live with and she wanted me all to herself. She spread rumors that I murdered people in order to scare people away. I suspect she has done the same thing here. I began to move around- my job as a collector gave me the perfect excuse to- avoiding Natalia whenever I could…

"Do I scare you, Yao-Yao? I enjoy killing. Am I a monster? That's what the villagers were fond of calling me." Ivan turned his head away and let go of Yao. It's not like Yao was going to stay with him. The only one willing to do that was his warped sister.

So it was with surprise that Ivan found himself being held by Yao's warm arms. Yao whispered into Ivan's ear, "Poor Yiwan." He stroked Ivan's fluffy strange colored hair.

Ivan quickly responded by wrapping his arms around Yao. "I only killed that man for you, Yao! He was one of the men who were chasing you in the market. But he can't hurt you now." Ivan's eyes were bright and childish, he acted proud of what he did.

Yao didn't breathe. Just as Ivan said, he was safe from that man now, but he didn't want Ivan killing people for him. He didn't want Ivan killing anyone at all.

"No, aru," Yao mumbled. "No-"

He found himself on the ground with Ivan hovering over him, protectively encasing Yao between his arms. A childish giggle made it past Ivan's lips as he declared, "I'll kill anyone whoever tries to hurt or take Yao away from me."

This was all wrong, things weren't supposed to be like this. Ivan's eyes were too bright, his laugh too childlike. Yao wanted to cry, but what good would that do?

Instead Yao reached out and hugged Ivan's head to his thudding chest. "No need to, aru," Yao said, desperately trying to reassure the Russian. "We won't be separated, won't be hurt."

He pulled Ivan's head up and placed a delicate kiss on Ivan's forehead.

Ivan wasn't the person Yao quite thought he was, but he still loved him. He accepted the darker, twister side of Ivan the best he could, even if Ivan completely terrified him. Well, he couldn't stop himself from loving Ivan even if he tried to

Ivan stood up, pulling Yao up along with him. "We go see the sunflower field tomorrow, da?"

"Sunflowers, aru?" Yao had completely forgotten about the sunflowers. "O-of course, aru."

"You know the pavilion by the harbor, da? Meet me there in the afternoon and I'll take you to see the sunflower field."

~oO|Oo~

Yao was falling asleep and tripping over his feet as they made their way back home. Other couples were heading back too. Most of them were tired, the festivity more or less evaporated.

Ivan caught Yao as Yao tripped again. He easily lifted the Chinese into his arms, cradling Yao against him. Yao flinched, but Ivan pretended not to notice.

"Yiwan, aru?" Yao yawned.

"Sssh," Ivan whispered. "You're tired, I'll carry you home, da?"

"Okay, aru," Yao eventually agreed as he drifted off to sleep.

Ivan had completely forgotten the condition of his coat as he knocked on Ludwig's door. Feliciano answered, shrieking and calling for help, as he took in the sight of Ivan in a bloody jacket holding an unconscious Yao.

"Feliciano?" Ludwig came running to protect the Italian. He stopped when he saw Ivan standing in his doorway.

Ludwig grabbed the sleeping boy away, shoving him into Feliciano's arms. Feliciano stumbled a bit as he tried to adjust to Yao's weight and Ludwig caught his arm to sturdy him. Ludwig stepped in front of Feliciano, trying to block his lover from the dangerous man's sight.

"What did you do, you bastard?" Ludwig growled. He tried calculating his odds against Ivan if he needed to fight and protect both Yao and Feliciano.

"I did nothing to Yao," Ivan protested. "I was protecting him!"

"Feliciano?"

"Vee~ Yao's just asleep."

"Hmph. Feliciano get away from Ivan." Ludwig stared down Ivan. "Leave now," he commanded.

Ivan smiled, but decided to just do what Ludwig said. Yao wouldn't be very happy if he attacked Ludwig (and Feliciano) after all.

~oO|Oo~

That night Yao dreamed of a sea of blood washing over him. He saw his younger brother and Ivan safe on the banks. He felt relief before the blood swallowed him up.

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Review?


	8. Chapter 8

Hehe, it's been awhile since I've updated this...On the other hand, I've finally managed to get rid of my stalker. Persistent guys are flattering, but sooo annoying. I think I can kinda understand what China feels when Russia stalks him...except that China actually loves his stalker ^^

Disclaimer: Hetalia is not mine...

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Unexpected.

Yao peered over the railing, on the tips of his toes. The water of the river was so smooth. How much he wished his life was like the flow of the river- smooth, contained, safe.

He dropped a rock into the water and watched as the flow of the water was shattered. No, instead his life was like this- unexpected, things were always coming at him from different directions.

With a sigh, Yao leaned his forehead against the cold surface of the railing, finding it soothing. He was so tired; all sorts of nightmares had disturbed his sleep.

Tracing the smooth surface, Yao tried to calm his frantically beating heart. Ivan would be coming soon, and as much as he was actually scared, Yao didn't want to show his fear to him. Not when Ivan was finally going to show him the sunflower field- Ivan was so excited about it.

Things will be fine, he told himself. Yes, there was nothing to worry about.

Idly he wondered, if he ever had to kill someone, would he do it?

With a sigh, Yao slumped down against the side and waited.

~oO|Oo~

Yao woke with a start as someone roughly shook him awake. Disoriented he gazed up at the person for a bit before realizing it was Roderich looking detached yet concerned for him.

"Are you alright?" he asked, polite as usual. Yao could only nod up at him. "You should head home, it looks as though it will rain soon."

Yao glanced up and was surprised to see the overcast sky. How long had he been waiting for Ivan now? Unease grew in his stomach, but Yao quickly pushed it away.

"Thank you, aru," Yao murmured drowsily, getting to his feet. Perhaps he should go check at Ivan's house?

Rain began to splatter down on both of them.

"Well, I shall be going now. Elizabeta is waiting for me," Roderich said, trying to fill in the awkward silence between them.

"Wait, aru!" Yao grabbed on to Roderich's sleeve before he could leave. "What…what time now, aru?"

Roderich blinked down at him before answering. "Almost dinner time now."

Yao bit his lip. It had been many hours now that he had been waiting for Ivan. He was probably just over thinking things, yet he couldn't help the fear and anxiety that was rippling through him.

"Here." Roderich held out his umbrella to Yao. "I live near here. Go home now." He awkwardly gave Yao a little pat on the head before turning away.

Yao paused, only to look back at the Austrian, before opening the umbrella and breaking into a run.

~oO|Oo~

Where would Ivan be?

Yao checked around their community first, but found no sight of him nor did anyone admit to seeing him recently. He ran to Ivan and Natalia's house, but neither was home. Running to Feliciano and Ludwig's to check, Yao collided against Ludwig. Strong hands grabbed his arms before he could fall to the ground.

"Vee~ Yao's back," Feliciano peeked around the corner from the kitchen. "Pasta's almost ready."

"Feliciano, I do not want to eat pasta _again_," Ludwig said, massaging his temples. "Why don't you let me cook for once?"

"But your wursts taste like shit," Feliciano complained. "And cooking is the wife's job, vee~"

"Wha- no- we're not married!" Ludwig stuttered, his face going a pale red.

"Ve~ You don't want to marry me!" Feliciano cried, promptly dropping some paper on the stove.

"Feliciano!" Ludwig ran over and yanked the paper off. "Stop crying! Don't twist my words into something else!" When that did nothing to console the crying Italian, he added, "I would…marry you, so stop crying!"

"Vee~ I love Ludwig too," Feliciano cried, attempting to wrap his arms around Ludwig.

Yao waited patiently for Ludwig to pry Feliciano off him before asking if they had seen Ivan.

"Nope!" Feliciano responded cheerfully.

Ludwig shook his head. "There was someone else looking for you…" Yao didn't wait to hear the rest before turning and running back into the rain.

Fear was quickly becoming the dominant emotion. No one had seen Ivan and he hadn't shown up- that was too unusual. Yao was beginning to admit that something was off, if not wrong.

Rain was pouring down now and the wind had picked up. With a gasp, the umbrella was swept out of Yao's hand. Yao stopped, contemplating whether he should go get the umbrellas before deciding to forget about it. He ignored the rain that was quickly soaking his clothes, plastering them to his skin.

The ground was slippery now. Yao wasn't looking to the ground as he ran. His heart seemed to freeze as he was suddenly sliding through mud. His eyes flickered open, wide, before he landed on the ground, mud splattering everywhere. Yao, coughing out mud and groaning, pushed himself off the ground, not caring about his messy appearance.

He ran to Ivan's house and began to bang on the door.

"Yiwan! Yiwan, aru!" he yelled. He continued screaming for Ivan, as if that would somehow make Ivan appear. "Yiwan…" He pressed his head to the door, trying to fight the tears.

Icy fear was washing over him now. He tried to calm himself- this wouldn't be like last time. Last time- he had almost believed that Ivan was gone and that he would never be able to see him again.

No, it wouldn't be like last time. Ivan was probably…somewhere. Somewhere close by. He was probably being stupid and childish. Yes, he would be coming soon, drenched and cold, but he would come. And then he would pull Yao into a hug and Yao would feel safe and happy.

Ah, how much he wanted to believe that would actually happen…

His breath caught as a knife lodged itself into the door above his head. Without turning, he knew immediately Natalia was behind him. Fear from Natalia sent goose bumps down his arms.

Dropping quickly to the ground, Yao was able to avoid another knife as it also lodged itself into the door where his head had previously been. Turning to face Ivan's younger sister, Yao couldn't help but blanch at the sight of her terrifying face.

Quickly acting for his safety, Yao grabbed the knives and threw them into the next yard.

But Natalia paid no attention to the loss of her knives as she stomped up to Yao and grabbed him by his collar.

It was unreasonable for him to be trembling this much, in fear of a girl, yet here he was. And he couldn't help but remember what Ivan had told of his and Natalia's childhood.

"…Aru…" Yao swallowed noisily, looking into the piercing eyes of Natalia. "Wh-what is it?" he finally managed to squeak out.

"Where is he?" Natalia demanded, her voice harsh and grating to Yao's ears. "Where is he!"

"Y- Yiwan, aru?"

Yao didn't see her hand coming towards him, but he definitely felt his cheek raw and stinging after. He was dimly aware of a small trickle of blood making its way down to his chin.

"He's gone- disappeared," Natalia's voice choked out, suddenly breaking. "Where is he?"

Yao stopped hearing anything. His head refused to acknowledge what Natalia was saying while his heart squeezed in fear.

Ivan was gone. He had disappeared again.

"No, not again," Yao whimpered to himself. He had only just found Ivan, and now he was gone again?

All previous fear of Ivan was gone, replaced by a chilling fear.

Why was it only when Ivan was gone did he truly realize how precious Ivan was? How much he needed Ivan?

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Reviews are very appreciated!


	9. Chapter 9

Recently I came down with a fever/cold...I'd forgotten how weird I can get when I'm sick. It's always an awkward moment when your friends walk in on you holding a discussion with your jacket because you're so sick/out of it...

Disclaimer: not mine

* * *

Natalia pushed Yao inside the house. It was hardly different than from when Yao had visited last, yet it was. It seemed so much darker than last time. A dim light filled the room, but all Yao could see were the dust motes floating around.

He stumbled to a chair and took a seat. Different possibilities of what could have happened to Ivan raged through his mind. Death, abduction… He shook his head, trying to rid himself of these thoughts, but his chest only tightened and it became harder to breathe. There was a dull ringing noise in his ears and he needed to keep his hands moving. Without thinking, he raked them up and down his arms. He had to keep moving somehow, he couldn't stand to stay still.

Yao jumped, startled, when Natalia shoved a sheet of paper into his face. Her face was livid, looking ready to kill, and Yao couldn't help but shrink back.

"What…?" Yao scanned the paper, but none of the writing made any sense to him. "I can't…don't understand, aru."

Natalia growled and narrowed her eyes. "They took him. But they want you."

Yao's eyes widened as realization hit him. But really, perhaps he should have known this. He didn't pay attention to Natalia grabbing his shirt or her contemplating him with a dangerous expression.

"It's all your fault, isn't it?" she hissed. "If my brother is hurt, if big brother is killed, it's all your fault. If you weren't around he wouldn't have been taken." Yao looked up at her wanting to disagree, but found that he couldn't. "All your fault, all your fault…"

Natalia stood suddenly, dragging Yao up with her. "I should have killed you before." Her lips curled upwards in what was a mockery of a smile. "But you know, you can still help me get big brother back."

~oO|Oo~

Arthur tapped his foot impatiently on the ground. To be honest, he was rather unsettled by the way he was acting. This wasn't him; he had used to be much more kinder. When he was younger he would never have thought that he would resort to tactics such as this. A gentleman, people had referred to him as.

Arthur regarded the large figure, bound and propped up against a small stonewall that bordered the one of the city's courtyards. It had been a complete shock to Arthur when he learned that Ivan was still alive. He cursed Alfred in his thoughts- could that man do nothing right? Everyone was so incompetent these days, completely useless.

A slight tug on his sleeve brought him out of his thoughts and he looked down at the small boy beside him.

"What is it, Peter?" Arthur asked, feeling weary. He wanted nothing more than to be out of the damp world and locked away in his parlor with a cup of steaming tea instead.

"You said you would acknowledge me as your cousin," Peter stated.

"Yes…" Arthur warily responded, wondering where Peter was going with this.

"So then why do I have to still where these dirty clothes?" Peter demanded petulantly, stamping his small feet. He pulled on his dirty sailor outfit and glared upwards. "You jerk, you said I don't have to live on the street anymore!"

Arthur sighed and gestured to one of his men to take Peter away. Rubbing his temples, he groaned. He could feel a headache coming on.

When his men had said that they had someone of interest, he hadn't exactly been expecting them to bring in his young cousin, who he preferred to not acknowledge as family- after all, his Uncle had only supported Arthur, ignoring young Peter, and Arthur lived by following his Uncle's example. However, Peter had come bearing information on the whereabouts of Yao and, apparently, Ivan. His men said that they had followed Peter after seeing him with Yao and it turned out that Peter had followed Yao around after they split up. His men had complained that Peter had been hard to catch (though apparently easier than Yao) since Peter had managed to disappear from them a couple times. Getting the information out of Peter hadn't been the too hard, seeing as all Peter really wanted to be recognized as family and treated as such.

Arthur rubbed his head. He was already in debt and he was sure that Peter would only increase his debt. But so far, everything Peter had said had been correct and he seemed to be cooperating with Arthur.

Arthur glanced at the unconscious Ivan. If everything worked out the way it should, he would have Yao back and then the debt would be gone. Kidnapping really wasn't his style, but he was desperate. Arthur's eyes flickered over to his men who were all eyeing Ivan with uneasy eyes. Subduing the large man certainly had been hard, as evidenced by the several unconscious men and the others who all had obtained an injury of some kind. But they had managed to get Ivan- Arthur only hired the best men in the city to work for him.

There was a low groan from Ivan and Arthur froze, pursing his lips. It seemed that Ivan would be waking up soon.

Arthur resumed tapping his foot. It was only a matter of time until Yao came, and Arthur _knew_ he would come. He had left a note and Yao was bound to find out what it said one way or another. Between running away and rescuing Ivan, Arthur knew he would choose the latter. Love did make one do stupid things, after all. And love really was the easiest way to manipulate a person.

He turned his head when he heard a loud shout.

~oO|Oo~

Yao spared a glance towards Natalia who was being dragged off by a couple of Arthur's men before turning to look at Arthur. Arthur smirked, his large eyebrows lifting high up. His shoes made a weird clacking noise against the wet pavement as he crossed to Yao.

"Where's Yiwan?" Yao demanded, glaring up at Arthur.

"How cute, you still can't pronounce his name properly." Arthur smiled calmly, though his eyes seemed to be taunting Yao.

"Come," Arthur said, wrapping an arm around Yao's waist. Yao flinched, but followed anyways. Arthur led him around a corner to where Ivan was.

Yao's eyes widened and he struggled, trying to run over to Ivan. Arthur's arm tightened, holding Yao in place. Though Yao was trapped, he let out a long sigh of relief.

"Oh, he's awake now," Arthur observed, casually. "Though he seems to still be rather out of it."

"Bast-" Arthur covered the Chinese's mouth and shook his head.

"Don't be so bloody rude," Arthur reprimanded him, tapping one long finger against Yao's pale lips. "I'm letting him go in exchange for you. Do you have any complaints?" Yao said nothing, preferring to glare at Arthur. Arthur's mouth stretched into a smile. Already he was feeling confident again, safe again, knowing that his luck would definitely be turning around now.

Arthur nodded his head and two of his men dragged Ivan out of the carriage. Ivan stumbled along, his eyes half opened, drool dripping from his mouth, and he stared at Yao and Arthur uncomprehendingly, as if they were simply part of a dream. Yao closed his eyes, preferring not to look at how pathetic sight before him.

"Do you remember that drug I gave to you a while ago?" Arthur pinched Yao, forcing the boy to open his eyes. "We sure had to use a lot more on him than on you."

"Hate-" Arthur covered Yao's mouth again.

"Hush. Isn't it better like this? We all get what we want," Arthur said, pulling Yao towards the carriage and pushing him inside it, ignoring Yao's cries of protests. "However…" He closed the carriage door, locking it from the outside securely. "I'd rather live without risks."

"Yao!" Ivan's voice echoed over to the two. He pushed himself off the ground from where he had been thrown down, slipping slightly.

"Yiwan, ar-" Yao froze as he watched Arthur pull out a gun from his jacket.

"Let's get this right this time," Arthur murmured, pulling the trigger.

Yao met Ivan's eyes met briefly before he looked down to the blood pooling out from where Ivan's heart was. His mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out.

It was like everything was repeating- a cruel, cruel cycle.

(But where was the hope this time?)

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...review...?


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: It's been a quite a while since this has been updated (and I don't want to figure out how long . ) School, life, writers block, me being lazy/unmotivated can be blamed for this delay. (and to think I used to have a somewhat regular update schedule for this...) To be honest, I've somewhat lost interest in this, and I'm not really satisfied with this chapter...but oh well.

Also thanks to everyone who reminded me to update this :) it would probably take me much longer to update this if people hadn't.

* * *

His senses dulled, his mind retreated from the world. There were no tears this time, as the carriage continued to roll along, only a sense of numbness. Even the disbelief that was coursing through his body- he was barely aware of it. The only thing that seemed to break through to Yao was the sounds of the carriage rolling over gravel. He clung to the sound, using it like a lifeline, anything to distract his mind from the inevitable chaos and pain.

It wasn't until Yao found himself back in a familiar room that choked sobs finally escaped him, it wasn't until then that he allowed himself to curl up in a tight ball.

~oO|Oo~

Arthur's back hit the side of the wall as he slid down against it. In one hand he clutched the gun, but he wouldn't- he _couldn't_- look at it. Killing the person was a lot different than sending someone else to do the work and he didn't think he would feel like this. Waves of remorse and guilt crashed over Arthur, intensified by the sobs he could hear from the other side of the wall.

How stupid was he? he asked himself. He finally had what he wanted, he had put so much effort into obtaining Yao- he shouldn't let guilt control his mind.

"Sir?" one of Arthur's servants slightly bowed to defer respect to Arthur. "There are some guests downstairs. They say that their business is urgent."

Arthur nodded, his eyes slightly hollow as he followed his servant towards the sitting room. He listened with polite attention at first as his lawyer introduced another man as his uncle's lawyer. A smile broke across his face and grew wider and wider as they explained that the man from before had been trying to scam him of his money- one of their partner's who had tried to take advantage of a "grief-stricken" nephew, so they put it. They quickly reassured him that his fortune was still there; yes, he was still very rich; no, there was no debt at all.

Relief-what an exhilarating and uplifting feeling, Arthur found. He thanked the lawyers heartily on their way out and assured them that he was not angered with them at all. Once they were gone Arthur collapsed on the nearest chair immediately and laughed in relief.

His faith in Yao and his determination to keep him beside his side, not much different than a favorite pet, was restored.

Everything, everything would get better. He would keep telling himself this over and over again.

~oO|Oo~

The first thing Arthur did with his restored wealth was to take Peter shopping. Before they left, Arthur made sure that Yao was secure in the room- there were no windows or other doors to escape from and the only door into that room was locked and a servant had been posted to keep watch. Not that Yao seemed to have any inclination to try to escape, though. The Chinese looked rather lifeless and simply stared at his surroundings in bewilderment. It made Arthur feel guilty, but only a tiny bit.

Arthur pushed all thoughts of Yao out of his head as Peter yelled at him to hurry up.

"Real gentlemen do not shout loud enough so that everybody in town can hear them," Arthur reprimanded his young cousin, cuffing him on the ears.

Peter stuck out his tongue. "Don't tell me what to do, stupid jerk." He laughed, running off so that Arthur couldn't try to hit him. Arthur grimaced. He had always been such a polite child when he was that age, he was sure. Then again, he did still have his mother and his uncle to look after him. After Peter's mother had become pregnant with Peter (Arthur assumed, by some dirty vagrant), Peter's mother had been disowned. Shortly after birth, she had died, or so Arthur had heard.

Though he had scarcely met Peter before, he had to admit he had a soft spot for the young boy who was crashing his way through the clothing store, much to the dismay of the shop owner.

"I want this!" Peter yelled, pointing to a neatly pressed sailor suit. Arthur pursed his lips.

"Really?" He let disapproval color his tone.

"Yes!" Peter stamped his small foot on the ground and started to argue his point, but he had already lost Arthur's attention.

Arthur froze as he caught sight of Alfred through the window. The young American was walking with an arm slung around the Canadian. Jealousy, that bitter emotion that Arthur was no stranger to, rose up his throat.

"Sure, get the clothing," Arthur called over his shoulder as he ran out of the shop and after Alfred. He hollered Alfred's name, not knowing what he would even say to Alfred when he turned around.

"Alfred! Alfred! You damn bloody git!" Arthur continued to yell after Alfred, but the American's back got further and further away.

"Alfre…" Arthur's voice died in his throat and he slowed to a stop on the sidewalk. A fat lady bumped into him and a group of Nordic men pushed him out of their way. But Arthur noticed none of them.

Why was it that he never got what he truly wanted?

~oO|Oo~

If he could cry he would, but it seemed that there were no more tears left, and somehow in this state he felt so much worse. He didn't flinch when the door banged open and Arthur entered the room. He merely blinked when Arthur lifted him up by his shirt and proceeded to slap him. He was abruptly dropped to the ground after and he only gazed at Arthur. The accusations and blames slid past his ears, as did the name 'Alfred' that repeated itself so many times in Arthur's rant.

Yao ignored his stinging cheek and buried his face in his arms. A low whimper escaped him.

Oh, how he wanted Ivan.

~oO|Oo~

It was Peter who came up with the idea.

"Can we travel somewhere?" Peter asked him, tugging on his sleeve while Arthur was trying to cook a meal for them. "I don't wanna stay here! I wanna travel! I wanna go to the islands!"

"It's 'want to' not 'wanna'," Arthur reprimanded. Since it was Peter suggesting the idea, he had the urge to refuse the proposal, but, though he hated to it admit it, he didn't find it a bad idea at all. "Maybe," he allowed, "if you eat all your dinner this time."

Peter pulled a disgusted face, but brightened up at the prospect of a trip.

Arthur left Peter at the dinner table to bring food to Yao. As per his agreement with Arthur, Peter said nothing about Yao nor acknowledged the fact that Yao was here at all.

Arthur pursed his lips when he found that the tray of food he had laid out for lunch was untouched. It had been the same over the last few days.

"Do you really think starving yourself is going to do anything?" Arthur asked. Yao didn't respond, he seemed fixated on pretending that Arthur didn't exist, but that wasn't unusual. He cleared his throat as if that would clear away the awkwardness that was ever present in this room. "Erm, we're going to be taking a trip soon…and-"

"No," Yao's voice, hoarse and dry cut through to Arthur's ears.

"No- what?"

"No," Yao repeated, his voice growing stronger. "I am not leaving this city, aru."

Arthur ground his teeth together in frustration. "You don't have a bloody choice in this." He grabbed Yao's thin wrist and pulled him to his feet. Yao swayed, his matted hair swinging. "He's dead- you have to realize this. Staying here won't make him come back. Don't be so bloody foolish." Arthur paused, internally cringing at his words, though he had no way of stopping them from coming out.

"We're leaving in a few days. Clean yourself up before then- you're a mess. An embarrassment."

Arthur turned his back to Yao and left, missing the look of hatred that was directed towards him.

After Arthur was gone, Yao huddled down, toying with the smoldering black blobs Arthur was trying to pass of as food. "He's not dead, aru. He can't be," Yao murmured, unsure of how much he believed his words.

~oO|Oo~

It hurt like _hell._

Like something had pierced through his skin, through his heart and had continued through to the other side. The pain was searing, burning, flames ripping their way through his body, and he wanted to cry out, but he had no voice too.

More frightening than the pain was the familiarity of the pain.

More frightening than this was when everything had gone black, blank, and he had ceased to exist.

Then he had found himself and relief flooded through him.

Then another form of pain had erupted, shooting through his core down to his toes. It felt as though his heart had been torn apart and was now slowly, gradually re-stitching itself together. It felt like this for a long time, though how long he could not tell.

And then suddenly the pain started to recede. His heart started to beat normally again, no longer pumping too fast, no longer beating painfully. The burning sensation went away gradually and it was a relief to fill his lungs with air.

"-other! Big brother!" the sounds that had seemed like a faint buzzing in the background before was starting to make sense now.

His mouth opened, the intention to respond, but his voice did not come out. His eyelids fluttered open and shut before staying shut.

"Big brother!" Natalia screeched, her hands reaching out to grasp Ivan's shirt.

"Mademoiselle," Francis said wearily from the doorway to his room. "You must let him rest. Please come sit down, s'il vous plait?"

Natalia cast him a dark look reserved for those who got in the way between her and her brother. After a moment of staring from both sides, Natalia gave Ivan's limp hand a squeeze before she followed Francis to the living room. She perched on the edge of a couch, ready at any moment to pull out her concealed dagger.

Francis held up his hands, a mockery of surrender.

"Come now, I would never dare hurt une belle fille," he smiled. "Besides, do you not think that you should be saying merci beaucoup?"

He was met only with a blank stare before relapsing into silence.

Natalia regarded the Frenchman with caution. True, he had helped her. When Natalia had managed to get rid of Arthur's men, she had run over to rescue Ivan, only to find him collapsed on the ground with blood running from his heart. It was like last time's injury. Her own heart beating quickly in panic, she had tried to lift Ivan up from the ground, but he was rather heavy and their house was so far away. At that point Francis had been walking by and had offered to help take Ivan to his house, which wasn't too far away. Between the two of them, they had managed to carry Ivan to Francis' house. So far it had taken a few days for Ivan to stop looking like a corpse. It was faster than last time.

Natalia had seen the wound last time she had found Ivan collapsed and she saw the wound this time. Both times, with the injuries he had received, he should be dead. Natalia didn't pretend she knew why Ivan wasn't dead, but she wasn't going to question it.

Better not to question the things she was grateful for.

~oO|Oo~

Ivan's head spun and a nauseating feeling settled over him as he stumbled into the living room and collapsed on the couch. He cast his violet eyes about the unfamiliar room. "Where…?"

Sharp pain stabbed at his heart, unrelenting, though he was slowly growing accustomed to it. When he had woken up, his mind was muddled, but everything had quickly come into a sharp focus as his mind cleared and he was able to remember everything correctly.

Yao had been taken away from him. _Again._ He had briefly felt wonder and shame that he had forgotten things from before, but then his single-mindedness took over and the only thing on his mind now was to get Yao back.

He quickly realized the bad shape he was in when he had barely made it to the living room. Sweat beaded on his forehead from exerting himself and he felt himself slip off the arm of the couch.

Male hands caught him before he hit the floor and helped him back on to the couch. A cup of water was lifted to Ivan's lips and he greedily drowned it.

"Be careful with the glass!" the man reprimanded Ivan as he carelessly set the cup on to the glass table.

"Who are you…?" Ivan trailed off as he turned to look at the man, almost instantly recognizing him as Francis. "Francis!" Ivan greeted, a bit happily. "I haven't seen you in a long time, da? Not since…" His brain quickly supplied the last memory he had of Francis, which if he remembered correctly had been when Francis had been about to take Yao. A dark haze settled over Ivan and he instinctively reached for his water pipe. Finding none, he didn't hesitate to pick up Francis' glass table and slam it on the pale Frenchman.

Ivan stared smugly at the bloody mess on the floor that was Francis. Anyone who touched his Yao didn't deserve to live…

"Oh…" Francis groaned, sitting up and starting to pluck broken shards of glass out of his scalp. "Mon Dieu…"

Ivan frowned. He reached down and picked up a piece of glass and stabbed Francis with it. The poor Frenchman dropped to the ground with blood dripping out of his chest. With a pleasant smile plastered to his face, Ivan reached for Francis' arm and tried to find his pulse. His smile widened when he confirmed there was no pulse.

That was one less person to deal with…

Ivan's frown promptly dropped from his face when Francis moaned and sat up. He raised the glass in his hand, ready to deal another blow to the Frenchman.

"Stop!" Francis raised his hands in front of his face as if that would actually stop the Russian.

Ivan frowned deeply and prodded Francis. "Ehhh? Why aren't you dead yet?" he complained.

"You…" Francis trembled weakly. "Mon Dieu…you've already killed me several times! Will you not stop?"

Ivan cocked his head to the side and, for good measure, drove a glass shard through Francis' heart, twisting it before pulling it out. This time it took Francis several minutes before he was able to open his eyes.

"Why can't you die?" Ivan _kol_'d. He grabbed a lamp and raised it above Francis' head, inciting an unmanly squeal from the Frenchman.

"If you would just- stop! I can explain!" Francis shouted. "No matter how many times you- put that down!- try, I won't- stop that!- actually die!"

Ivan paused, his violet eyes indecipherable. "You…won't?" He didn't bother to mask his disappointment.

"Ah…finalement," Francis sighed with relief when Ivan made no move to attack him again. "I can't die for the same reason you can't die."

Ivan paused, cocking his head to the side, weighing Francis' words in his mind. Several things clicked. "You were trying to take Yao when I broke into Kirkland's place…" Ivan's brows furrowed.

Francis coughed, a bit more blood coming up. "It is said," he slowly started explaining, "that when one takes complete possession of an Immortal, they, too, will obtain immortality- what some people consider 'good luck,' oui? Ahh, the first time I killed myself, I woke up without remembering anything- quite a problem, oui? Then I stumbled outside- I was rather disoriented, see? - and right into the road. Instantly killed! Mon dieu, it was so painful, but I remembered everything when I woke up after. Dying doesn't get any less painful, you know." Francis gave Ivan a hard stare.

Francis paused. "Not that stupid Arthur actually knows that. Imagine, having an Immortal and not reaping all the benefits. I couldn't stand by and let that cute little boy go to waste- though I found it surprising that even Yao doesn't seem to know about that benefit…"

When Natalia returned to Francis' living room, she found the Frenchman on the floor unconscious and rather broken.

Ivan was also gone.

~oO|Oo~

Yao struggled, though he knew there was no point to it. Arthur paid him no attention as Yao was shoved into the carriage, staring out the window instead. Peter, sat next to Arthur, kept his head down, fiddling with the hem of his clothing- never again would he have to wear dirty rags, never again would he have to starve. And for this, he couldn't bring himself to look at Yao at all.

Yao curled up on his seat, letting his eyes close, all the more easier to pretend he was somewhere else and not here- he tried to think of places that wouldn't make him think of Ivan. A useless endeavor, he couldn't dispel the man from his mind no matter how much it hurt nor how much he tried.

When the carriage jerked forward, proceeding to rattle its way down the cobblestone street to the railway station, Arthur casually remarked, "There's no point in staying here." He pointedly ignored the murderous aura radiating towards him.

Yao slumped back into his seat. He would ignore Arthur. His throat ached, but he refused to give Arthur the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

~oO|Oo~

Ivan groaned, clutching at his chest. Running had certainly worsened his condition. He leaned against the metal fence, panting, and stared up at Arthur's home, thankful that he had made it.

Then he frowned, Arthur's mansion was dark and there seemed to be no sign of life. He quickly forced open the gate and within a few minutes, had broken into Arthur's home.

Ivan swore, his voice echoing throughout the empty rooms. There was no one here and Ivan was sure that Arthur wouldn't simply leave Yao unattended. He stumbled back outside, wiping the sweat from his brow. All the movement was taking a toll on him. Frustration ripped through him- but it was better to concentrate on the frustration than on the worry and the fear.

Then, luckily for Ivan, a man whom he recognized as one of Arthur's walked around the corner carrying a large box. The man stopped in surprise, seeming to recognize who Ivan was. He turned on his heel, poised to flee, but Ivan was quicker and before the man had a chance to escape, Ivan had already flung his water pipe (Natalia had returned it to his jacket pocket earlier). Even injured and weakened, Ivan still had good aim, the water pipe finding the man's head perfectly.

A smile passed over Ivan's face before he reached to down to pull the man up. The man let out an undignified squeak and something similar to amusement settled in Ivan's features. He shook the frightened man.

"You will tell me where Arthur went, da?" Ivan demanded, squeezing the man. The man quickly told Ivan what he knew: that Arthur had decided to leave for some time- which was why the mansion had been closed and everything had been moved quickly, that Arthur had just only left, that Ivan had only just missed him.

"Where is he headed?" Ivan asked, opening and closing his fingers one at a time round the man's neck.

"I don't know," the man cried, frantically trying to pry off Ivan's strong fingers. "The- the train station, he's leaving by the train station! Please don't-"

Ivan let the man fall back to the ground, the man's neck twisted oddly.

He left quickly. Hope warring with despair, his frustration flared up again with how slow he was moving.

But he still had time.

~oO|Oo~

"Blasted traffic," Arthur grumbled, tapping his foot against the floor of the carriage impatiently. "It'd have been quicker to walk here."

The carriage rumbled to a stop in front of the train station. Arthur let out a sigh, "Finally."

Yao stared out into the crowd. Despite knowing it was useless, he couldn't help searching for _him._ Instead he caught sight of that interfering American.

"Alfred," Arthur uttered. He glanced back at Yao before leaving the carriage to try to make his way to Alfred's side.

Yao would have snorted if he were any other situation but this. Arthur was too pathetic- he had loved and lost and still he couldn't express himself properly. Even now he was only scolding and yelling at Alfred instead of saying what he really meant and Alfred was looking annoyed that Arthur was wasting his and Matthew's time.

But it did make Yao feel a little better to see Arthur in misery over a loved one.

_Oh, how he wanted revenge on Arthur._

Yao blinked his eyes and cleared his head. If Arthur thought he was just going to come quietly, he was wrong. Yao had no intention of going anywhere with him. His eyes darted to the guard in front of him who wasn't even paying any attention to Yao, then to Peter who posed no threat at all.

And here was a chance.

Yao moved quickly, stunning the guard before the man knew what had happened. He ignored Peter who was staring at Yao with wide eyes, jumping out of the carriage.

He hesitated for a split second, meeting Arthur's eyes, then ran into the crowd.

~oO|Oo~

At the same time that Arthur cursed and lurched forward to follow Yao, Ivan clutched the side of a small stall selling flowers. He fought down the overwhelming nausea, scanning the crowd to try to locate Yao. He ignored the people crowding around him, asking if he were sick or injured. Ivan shrugged aside a few worried hands.

In such a situation as this, Ivan couldn't help but be glad that he was so tall. Right after spotting Arthur pushing his way through the crowd towards the train platform, Ivan lunged forward, shoving disgruntled travelers out of his way.

~oO|Oo~

Repeated apologies automatically left Arthur's mouth as he made his way through the throng of people.

He gasped when he broke through the crowd of people, one hand outstretched to grab on to anything to keep him from falling. His hand closed around a slim arm and two pairs of shocked and surprised eyes met, golden and emerald.

Arthur smiled thinly in relief. He didn't notice the rage in Yao's eyes. He pulled on Yao's arm, trying to drag him back to the others, but Yao remained rooted to his spot. He was surprised when Yao's fist connected with his face.

Arthur opened his mouth, but said nothing, strangely cowed by this defiant Yao.

"… Don't be ridiculous!" Arthur found his voice. "There is no choice- you're coming either by your own free will or by force."

"No," Yao persisted, pulling away from Arthur.

Arthur cursed, unable to dislodge Yao from his spot- he was unable to get close enough to strike him or to do anything else other than try to grasp at his arms.

"_Yao!"_

Yao froze at the familiar voice. But- no, he was only imagining things. Arthur took Yao's distraction as an opportunity to try to wrap his arms around the Chinese boy.

"No!" Yao's hands shot out in front of him and without thinking, without having any idea of what he was doing at all, he had gripped Arthur and flung him right off the platform and on to the tracks. Arthur let loose a cry of shock and fear. He tried to stand back up, but stumbled back down on the tracks, wincing as pain shot through his ankle.

Yao's eyes flickered down the tracks and a small smile spread across his face. Arthur followed Yao's line of vision to the quickly approaching train and struggled harder, reaching to Yao for help. His eyes pleaded with Yao, but Yao stepped away into the shadows of the platform.

Suddenly he looked past Yao and his eyes widened in disbelief and fear.

Then everything was happening so quickly, the train coming into the station, people trying to rush to help, Arthur constricting in fear, and then Arthur was-

Long hair whipped around Yao's face as the train moved past him. Yao let out the breath he had unknowingly been holding and stumbled a few steps backwards.

People were running to Arthur's mangled body and a few cries rose above the crowd.

Yao clamped a hand over his mouth. He felt horrible, so horrible. What had he done?

What felt worse was the realization that if he had to go through this again, he would do the exact same thing- regret was a foreign concept at this point. He couldn't stop feeling pleased and relieved.

Yao stumbled backwards again, tripping over the ground. Strong arms surrounded and caught him. Before he could realize what was going on, Ivan was cradling him.

"Yao, Yao," Ivan murmured into Yao's hair.

"Yiwan?" Yao responded, staring, then instantly touching and tracing Ivan's face: his cheeks, his lips, his nose, anywhere he could reach. He wasn't sure if he could believe it was really him. "You're…"

"Shh," Ivan pressed his lips lightly to Yao's forehead. "Everything's fine, I'm here."

Yao closed his eyes as Ivan moved them away, wrapping his arms around Ivan's neck, hardly daring to believe he was here.

No one noticed the pair leave.

* * *

The end~ Kinda.


	11. Epilogue

Dark black hair had pooled in Ivan's hand when he woke up. It still seemed unreal to him- to wake up and have Yao asleep next to him when he woke up. It was nice and it made Ivan almost able to smile when he thought back to the times when he thought that he would never have Yao.

It had been months- was it months? Ivan supposed it was, he had stopped counting some time ago- since the incident at the train station. Or, well, that was how Ivan referred to it in his mind. He never said much about it, not anymore, tending to stray away from that particular topic. Yao always looked so pained and guilty whenever he thought Ivan wasn't looking at him. It was only recently that Yao was acting more and more like his regular self instead of being quiet and distant like he had for those so many months.

"I don't regret it," was the only thing Yao ever said about it.

And that was that.

The two of them had moved to a different city, somewhere they could start anew. They had come into a fair amount of money (Ivan wondered if he could attribute this stroke of luck to Yao) and had used it to buy a nice house on the outskirts of the city.

Every now and then Yao would go back to visit with Ludwig and Feliciano while Ivan would visit with his sister. Yao would report cheerfully on how well Ludwig and Feliciano were doing, and Ivan would put his visit with Natalia out of his mind.

Ivan stretched, jostling the bed and accidently waking Yao. Yao yawned, blinking at Ivan before pulling him down for a kiss. He rested his hands on Ivan's bare chest, lightly tracing over the permanent scar that was etched over Ivan's chest. The Russian shivered, just as he did every time Yao paid attention to the scar, which was quite often. There were always the slightest pinpricks of pain when Yao touched his scar.

"I'm going into the city today. I have some business to take care of and I'll do the shopping while I'm there," Ivan told Yao, running his hand through the silky strands.

"Did you make a list?" Yao inquired. Ivan rolled his eyes, but Yao persisted. "You always forget to buy something if you don't have it written down, aru."

"I won't." Ivan flicked the Chinese on his nose, chuckling when Yao flinched.

Yao disagreed. "You will, then I have to prepare our food with a missing ingredient, aru, and it never tastes right."

"It's all in your head."

"Ivan…" Yao sighed, rolling away.

Ivan grinned, poking Yao's side. "Say it again~"

"Why?" Yao pouted, burying his head beneath the sheets. "…Ivan."

Ivan hummed in contentment and pulled Yao closer. Although "Yiwan" was cuter to hear, he loved the way "Ivan" flowed from Yao's lips. It had taken some effort to get Yao to pronounce his name correctly, but it was worth it.

"What are you going to do while I'm gone?" Ivan asked as he finally resigned himself to getting out of bed. "Have you seen my shirt?"

Yao pointed to the corner of the room. "Xiang's coming over later, aru."

A little while after Yao and Ivan had moved, Ludwig and Feliciano had reunited Yao with his younger brother, Xiang. Yao, who had hardly dared to believe he would ever see his younger brother again, could hardly believe it and clung to Xiang the entire time (he also could hardly believe that Xiang was now taller than him). Xiang, stoic and calm, had quirked a small smile, patting Yao on his head almost as if he were the older brother. Yao had tried to get Xiang to come stay with him, but Xiang had declined, saying that there was a Taiwanese girl that he was living with now.

Later Yao lamented to Ivan that his little brother was "all grown up and so very handsome, aru."

Xiang and Yao met up every so often, though Yao had met the Taiwanese girl only once and she had glared at him the entire time. Thinking about her made Yao slightly depressed, and his smile must have slipped into a frown because the next thing Yao knew, Ivan was leaning over and pinching his cheek.

"Yao-Yao looks better when he smiles." Ivan gave Yao a bright smile of his own.

~oO|Oo~

"Don't forget to water the sunflowers," Ivan reminded Yao as he searched around for his jacket.

"I will, aru," Yao grumbled, also helping Ivan search.

Recently, Ivan had decided to try growing some sunflowers around there house in an attempt to make their home more cheerful, though Yao knew it was just really because Ivan loved the flowers.

It had been an utter disappointment as all of them had refused to grow.

Not until Yao had tried with far more patience had any grown. For now Yao would grow the tall yellow flowers while Ivan would admire with envy. However, even more recently, the local squirrels had decided that they also wanted some of the sunflowers. Yao found it rather amusing to look outside and see Ivan uselessly battling against the squirrels over the sunflowers every now and then.

"Found it, aru," Yao declared, holding up the long tan jacket. He tossed it to Ivan. "Here."

Ivan caught it with ease. "Yao should stop tossing my clothes everywhere, da? I can never find them."

Yao glared back, completely failing to look intimidating or scary.

Once Ivan had put on his jacket, he pulled Yao into a kiss. "I'm going now. Have fun with Xiang. I'll be back tonight." He gave Yao another kiss and took the chance to grope his lover.

Yao groaned, swatting away the wandering hand and rolling his eyes at Ivan, though a smile lurked at the corners of his mouth.

"Don't forget about me, aru," Yao instructed.

"Da, I won't," Ivan promised, resisting the urge to salute to smaller lover.

"And don't go missing either. I don't want to go looking for you again."

"Yes, yes, I won't." Ivan reached out and pulled Yao into his arms and Yao leaned his head against where Ivan's heart and scar were. "So long as you don't go missing, or try to sacrifice yourself to save someone."

"Stupid Ivan," Yao mumbled into Ivan's shirt.

But he wrapped his arms tightly around Ivan and hugged him back anyways.

* * *

Finally the end to this~

Thanks to everyone who reviewed/favourited/story alerted. Thanks especially to those who pushed for this to be more than an oneshot.

Review one last time?


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